In The End, The Dead Always Win
by AllThingWeird35
Summary: No matter how hard they tried to live, no matter how hard they tried to stay together; they got stuck in the darkness. The only light that ripped through the veil was each other and those they swore to protect. (Includes an OC) Rated T for swearing and gore
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello! This is the first time I've done this kind of thing, so please no flames and leave constructive criticism. I've always written fanfiction but have never had the guts to post it. Though, my friends convinced me to. Anyways, this is a Walking Dead fanfiction and will include an OC, so if you don't like this kind of thing, that's okay. All I'm saying is enjoy reading this and I'll update when I can. Okay, read on and review!**

Prologue

_As my light fades away from me, I think about how all this shit happened. It's almost funny. Back then, everything was easy, well as easy as high school gets. I think about the families that got left behind, friends, complete strangers. I think about the places that were destroyed by all this devastation. Basically I think about a whole lot of stuff. _

_The only real hope I had in this Apocalypse has kept me going until the very end and the end is now. And in our last moments, people see who you really are. Whether you're scared, sad or content, yet it doesn't matter because no one cares. Not close friends, not me and certainly not __**them. **_

_In the end, survivors lose and the dead always win._


	2. That Summertime Sadness

**A/N: Thanks to all those we followed my story! Even if it was only short. This chapter is much longer, so enjoy, read and leave a review, it would mean alot to me.**

'That Summertime Sadness'

**1 month before the Apocalypse. **

The fallen leaves crunched underneath her boots as she travelled through the forest. Her glasses began to fog up; it was surprisingly cold for the middle of the June, so she wrapped her arms closer to her torso. Today was moving day and she dreaded it.

Her brother, Alan, had enlisted in the American Army, feeling that he could do more in the world rather than be a football coach at her High School. He was shipping her off to live with her sister, Scarlett for her senior year. The only problem with that Scarlett's husband was a complete asshole and a bit of a perv, so she'd do her best to avoid him. She was very proud of her brother, she really was but she was afraid of what she would leave behind here in Stone Mountain.

She'd leave behind all the good friendships she had with everyone behind, especially the one with _him_. The first time met him, several kids being nasty to him in the middle of the park a few weeks after she moved her.

* * *

_Innocently, she skipped ahead of her brother, not a single care in the world. Behind her, Alan had a soft close lipped smile. He wished things had been like this back in New York but his mother clearly had other ideas. _

_They were on their way to the park. Jaiden had been begging him for weeks to go to the park but they had simply never had the time. Unpacking had gotten in the way as had his new job and Scarlett was staying in New York for a bit longer but today was his day off, so finally he complied. The look on her face was priceless when he said they were going to the park, it was as if Christmas had come early._

_"Ally?" Jaiden had since stopped in her tracks to face him._

_"Yeah, Jay?" He bent down to her level as she had crane her small neck up to see him properly. Shyly, she glanced at the park before looking back at him._

_"Can you push me on the swing please?" A small, hopeful smile appeared on her lips. "Of course I can sweet pea." Her smile grew into a full blown toothy grin._

_Eagerly, Jaiden clasped her tiny hand into his giant one and dragged him over the swing. Alan grabbed her waist to place her into the safety swing. "Ally, why do I have to be in the baby one?" She wondered grumpily._

_"Because you're baby, Jay."_

_Jaiden let out a frustrated huff, "No I am not! I'm gonna be six next week!" Alan rolled his eyes, __**typical toddler.**_

_"Do you want me to swing you or not?" He placed his hands on the back of the swing seat, "Sorry." This time, it was Alan who let out a sigh. He brought her back before releasing her with a push. Jaiden squealed in delight, which made Alan grin again._

_While Alan pushed her, Jaiden observed the park, which was fairly busy; there were many parents with their children. The sight of them made Jaiden feel miserable. She didn't know what happened to her parents. Alan and Scarlett said that Mommy had been a naughty girl and Daddy had to go away for a little while, but she had no idea what that meant._

_Nonetheless, Jaiden shook the thoughts of her parents away and gazed around the park some more. One scene in particular caught her attention. Four older boys had gathered around another boy, much younger than them. The boy surrounded by the others seemed fearful; a few tears fell from his eyes. No one appeared to notice what was going on. Jaiden narrowed her eyes at the bigger boys and became enraged. __**That's not very nice.**_

_"Ally, stop the swing please."_

_"Why? What's wrong?"_

_"Please, Ally?" She looked back at him to see his confused face though when he saw her annoyed one, he complied. First, he halted the swing before hooking his hands under her armpits to lift her out. As soon as her feet made contact with the ground, she raced over to the boys despite her brother's protests._

_"Hey." They didn't hear her and continued taunting the other boy._

_"Hey!" She cried. On closer inspection, she realised that the four of them were towered over her much like Alan did. Inside, she felt dread but on the outside she was fuming. "What?" One of them sneered. Jaiden crossed her arms over her chest, all the while scowling at the boys._

_"Leave him alone." She demanded. To her surprise, they started to snigger. __**What are they laughing about?**__ Jaiden thought, __**I'm much scarier than them! **__"Aw, look. Little princess tryin' be big and tough." One of them mock pouted, clearly making fun of her. "Be quiet or I'll tell on you," This caused them all to chuckle louder. "D'you hear that guys. She'll tell on us." The bigger and more stupid one of them pointed at her with a chubby finger. __**Maybe this was a bad idea, what's Ally going to say?**__ When she peered back at the boy and saw his hopeless, wretched expression; she didn't back down._

_"Shut up!" She all but screeched, causing a few heads to turn. The larger one smirked, "Oh yeah? Make me." She uncrossed her arms, bringing them to her side, her fists curling into balls. Before her Daddy went away, he told her that when you get mad, take it out on the source of your anger. The big boy had no idea what was coming. In a blink of an eye Jaiden brought her fist back and full on whacked him in the stomach. It seemed to have an effect as he doubled over._

_"Get her!" The pained boy ordered. Immediately, the remaining three pounced on her, their fists flying in all direction. Jaiden felt a nasty blow to the eye and she started to cry. Then someone pulled all the boys off of her, "What the hell do you think you're going?" Alan asked furiously. When four boys saw the giant of a man, they scattered. "Hey!" He called but they were too fast. Seeing them disappear into the trees, Jaiden walked over to the victim. "Are you okay?" He wondered an apologetic look on his face, tear tracks stained on her cheeks but they no longer fell from her eyes._

_"What about you?" The boy appeared to be surprised._

_"I'm fine. T-thank you…" He trailed off sheepishly, a rosy tint covering his cheeks._

_"I'm Jay. Jay Matthews." She took a step closer to him. _

_"I'm B-Ben. Ben Paul." _

_"Hello, Ben. Do you wanna play on the seesaw with me?" Her lips curled into her impish beam again. Ben nodded eagerly, his own lips forming into a cute smile. Jaiden grabbed his hand and tugged him away._

* * *

Jaiden smiled at the memory, it was so long since then. Back when everything was innocent and pure. As she moved closer into the forest, she came into a small clearing. A few rays of early sunshine peeked through the trees. It illuminated most the flowers in the meadow, most of sunshine pierced through the water a few feet away from her. There was hardly any life, only the birds singing their morning melody. Though the only one unmistakable form; Ben. He rested on the shore of the lake; the back of his tall frame faced her.

She smirked.

Adjusting her glasses, she tiptoed over to him. Jaiden held her breath, it was so quiet he could hear anything; he had the hearing of a bat. In her head, she could just imagine his reaction as clear as day. The thought caused her to bite her lower lip to contain her from laughing. When she was closer to him, she shrieked. Ben flew up from his sitting position; his arms and legs went in all different directions and he screamed too. The look on his face was priceless. Then, Jaiden doubled over in a fit of giggles, her body landing on the ground. Her glasses slipped off her nose, resting beside her giggling form.

"Jaiden! What the Hell! Why?" He asked, a little out of breath. A few stray tears leaked from her eyes, which she quickly wiped away. Her vision was still blurry as she wasn't wearing her glassed. Squinting, she searched for her spectacles, patting her hand on the ground to help. Finding nothing, she gazed up at the hazy form of her best friend.

"Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you got my glasses?" For one second there was no sound. "Um… n-no." If it was one thing that Ben was terrible at, it was lying, well to her anyway. He always stuttered or sounded uncertain or his voice cracked. She rolled her eyes but grinned nonetheless.

"You're the worst liar in the world." She teased, grabbing Ben's arm to heft herself up. Patiently, she held her hand out. Ben grabbed her left shoulder, clearly meaning that she was facing the wrong direction, again. Jaiden cleared her throat, eyebrows raised expectantly. With a huff, Ben positioned her glasses back onto her face. As her vision cleared, she was met with Ben's flushed face.

"Are you gonna blush every time we touch?" Her question caused him to blush a little more. He gazed down at his feet, pouting.

"Aw, Benny ain't you a little cutie." Ben gave her playful shove, to which they both laughed.

"You're horrible, you know that right?" She smiled a toothy grin, looking at him innocently. "You love me really." Ben rolled his eyes, the faint tint of blush still stained on his cheeks. "What you gonna do when you get a girlfriend? I heard Jenny's interested in you." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively; all the guys had an eye on Jenny Pitcher but when she had eye on one guy in particular, they were lucky bastards.

She was flawless. Everything about her was perfect; she was the typical girl next door. Beautiful long locks, twinkling green eyes, thin as a stick and the kindest person in the world. Jaiden was the exact opposite; she was imperfection, that's what she thought. Her piggy ears, her split ended hair, too pale, she was pretty much blind without her glasses, and she wasn't exactly slim. How would Be- any guy want to be with her? The list could go on and on.

"Will you give me a break for once? Besides, Jenny's alright." She shook her head, washing away her self-pitying thoughts.

"She's only alright? Fuck Ben. The girl you're gonna fall in love with will be have to be Scarlett Johansson or Jessica Alba beautiful." She explained.

"Do we have to talk about girls? Can we just enjoy stuff?" Ben pleaded, tired of this. Jaiden held her hands in a surrender position, "I'm just trying to keep my mind off moving," The once gleeful moment turned into one of glumness.

"I know. Do you really have to go?" Ben gave her his usual pouting face but it was mixed with sorrow.

All the memories of what they had been through in the past twelve years, flashed through her mind. Even though most of the memories seemed pointless to other, every moment with Ben was important. She'd go through Hell and back for him, she'd do anything for him. She didn't care what others said or did to her, as long as she had him, everything would be okay. It may have just been moving to a place not that long away, things wouldn't be the same. There would be no going around to each other's houses every day, no more babysitting Ben's younger sister, Amy. No more BBQ's in summer. No more everything. It's the small details in life that make the massive effect.

"Yeah Ben, I do." She gulped, trying to settle down her teenage hormones.

"Let's not get all sappy now; we can do that when I leave. Besides, let's go walk around, doing what we do." Ben nodded; with all the tenderness in world, he slipped his hand into hers before leading her away from the clearing and into the beautiful wilderness of Stone Mountain.

"Hey! You didn't blush this time!"

"Shut up, Jay!"

* * *

A little while later, the duo made their way back home. Alan texted her saying, _Get your ass back home or I'll come find you. _She had rolled her eyes at that. Every time, she left the house to socialisation, her brother didn't realise that she had a social life at all. Even though she told him where she was heading, he was too busy sitting on his ass, watching football. Honestly, she didn't even know how Alan decided to join the Army because he was tired just moving into the kitchen.

"What are you thinking about?" Ben wondered.

The two now strolled down a street, a few blocks away from their houses. "Alan and how he can be a lazy son of bitch, nothing new." Her lips twitched upwards, turning into a playful smile, which made Ben smile too.

"What about you?" She quickly glanced at him sidelong. "Nothing big, y'know guy thoughts," Jaiden rolled her eyes.

"One of these days, your eyes are gonna get stuck," he informed her, sounding all too serious. "Aw, Benny looking out for me?" She queried in a mock-cute voice.

"Hey, I'm your best friend; it's my job to look out for you." Jaiden twisted her head to gaze up at him; a soft smile graced her lips. Her eyes glittered in admiration as she soaked in what he said. There was no other boy like Ben, all the others were either bastards or just didn't notice her. She would defiantly miss this.

She draped her arms across his middle, squeezing him into a side hug. Ben reacted by stopping them in their path in order to wrap his arms around her shoulders, bending down to do so. Jaiden rested her head on his chest and briefly shut her eyes. Ben's hugs were the best hugs. Always warm, always full of love, even if it sounded sappy, it was true. It was obvious that Ben would be blushing now but she didn't want to ruin by teasing him.

"Hey, Matthews!" A shrill voice rang out.

Freaked out, the duo sprang away from the hug. Jaiden searched for the source of the voice. When she found it, she wasn't happy. Opposite them were five people Jaiden hoped not to see at all, today, Felicity Green, Chris Fletcher, Kyle Foster, Faye Richards and Lucy Baker. Or more known as 'The Popular Kids' and they did whatever they could to make her life a misery. She never understood why she was the source of their amusement but she never did anything about it. At the start of it all, she was headstrong and didn't take shit from them. As it became worse, her confidence shattered. What was the point of ending it if all they were going to do was start it all over again?

"Heard you were movin' today." Kyle smirked.

"Yeah, so what if I am?" She didn't have time for their shit today. "Jay…" Though, Ben trailed off when he saw her expression; it was pissed. So, he kept silent.

"Well, y'know, it's a good thing cause no one wants you here anyways," Lucy started, a dirty smirk across her lips. The other two bitches eyed Ben up and down, a disgusting glint in their eyes. Jaiden stepped in front of him, clearly not liking their stares.

"Just like you're momma didn't want you." Jaiden felt her jaw clench, her hands curled into fists, tears pricking in her eyes, glasses fogging up, "What the fuck do you think you're saying bitch?"

All five of them giggled, "You're mommy didn't even think about you before she killed your daddy. I heard you were there when it happened. Did she make you watch her do it? Did you watch as your Daddy was stabbed all over? It's a shame the police got there when they did, you could've been next! It was would have saved everyone a lot of time if you were dead. Everyone could've been a lot happier without you. Your brother and sister wouldn't have to deal with a whiny, stupid kid. Benny-boy here could've had more decent friends, maybe even a girlfriend." Lucy stood there, satisfied as Jaiden begin to cry silently. The others laughed. "Fuck you Lucy!" Ben hollered.

Everyone started at Ben questionably, the majority in surprise, others in confusion. "Ben just leave it please," Jaiden sniffled. He glanced down at her. A number of emotions were written on her features; sorrow, defeat, humiliation and fatigue.

Sighing, Ben grabbed her hand, "Let's go." Jaiden followed numbly, allowing Ben take her away from them. As they trekked further down the street, the laughs started to fade away. Instead of watching were they were going, she studied him, adjusting her glasses too.

His shoulders were more hunched than they usually were, his eyebrows were furrowed, his lips thinned, the grip he had on her hand was slightly tight. It was clear that he was pissed. Ben rarely ever got pissed, though when he did; it was for a good reason.

"Don't be angry, Benny." She spoke softly, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze as well as wiping away the stray salty tears on her face.

Jaiden was only small when her mother murdered her father; Ivy, (her mom) had come home one day, in a very bad mood. Alan and Scarlett were still in school. She recalled her mother dragging her to the basement, her fingers knotted into Jaiden's locks, she had screamed at the top of her lungs for someone to help her. No one did. She had been thrown into the darkness, imprisoned and alone. She was afraid of the monsters that lay in the shadows; there was no knight in shining armour. As she had screamed for help, Ivy stabbed her father to death. The police rescued her though, which she was forever grateful at the time. She still had no idea why Ivy slaughtered her father. Any loving thoughts of her mother she had washed away, turning into ones full of hate. Jaiden didn't dare go near her mother's prison for she was too mortified. To this day, Jaiden had fears of being alone and the dark. As long as she had someone to protect her from the demons and guide her into the light, everything would be fine.

Ben removed his grasp on her hand, stuffing them in his pocket. Inside, Jaiden immediately missed the feel of his hand in hers. "I'm not angry," Ben stated his eyes downcast, she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's just that, I-I don't get why you let them do that to you. The things they say are terrible, Jay. What they said about you dying? Tha-that's so fucking horrible." His gazed at her again, his expression void of anger, instead it was full of sympathy and sorrow. Jaiden shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

"You get used it, besides it just matter anymore. I'm leaving and I won't have to ever see them again." Ben sighed, knowing that was true.

"Thanks Ben."

"For what?" He frowned.

"For being my guy," She mock punched him on the arm. A rose tint appeared on his cheek, but he grinned boyishly.

"That's what I'm here for."

* * *

**So that was the introduction of my OC; Jaiden Matthews and her life. Don't worry the Apocalypse will start shortly.**


	3. Ready To Go

**A/N: Hi! I'm back again with a new chapter, thanks to all those you have followed, favourited and reviewed! This one is a bit longer, so enjoy and please review, it would mean a lot to me to know that people are actually reading this. See you next time!**

Chapter Two- 'Ready To Go'

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Alan's giant frame was situated at the end of the driveway; his strong arms were crossed across his broad chest, his eyebrow raised questionably and accusingly at the two. Jaiden glared at him, whilst Ben cowered. As of late, he'd be snappier with Jaiden and a lot harder on Ben. There was no reason to support his attitude but it was piss her off. He always seemed to be frustrated whenever she did something with Ben.

Last week, she and Ben were forced to go on a 'double date' with Travis and Evie (their close friends). When Alan found out, he blew a fuse. He became so enraged; she thought he was going to tear the house down. His outbursts were to the point that she was glad she wouldn't have to live with him anymore.

Jaiden and Ben both made motion to answer but another voice saved them. "C'mon Al, they're old enough to look after themselves. Besides, it's not like they went into the forest to make out." Scarlett ambled over slowly. She had stayed over for a few days, helping Jaiden and Alan, mainly with what to keep or not. Scarlett was a pain in the ass. Now that she was pregnant, it was worse.

This caused Ben to blush and Jaiden's cheeks to go the palest shade of pink, Ben gazed anywhere but her. Whenever someone accused them of anything intimate, they were embarrassed; (Ben more so as Scarlett had the tendency to make romantic remarks about their relationship) neither of them had any much experience in romance.

"You weren't, were you?" Alan snapped; their blushes making him narrow his eyes.

A chorus of stuttered no's came, which only succeeded in making Scarlett snigger. "I'm teasing guys. Honestly, with a reaction like that I surprised you two still haven't."

Ben scratched the back of his neck and Jaiden glowered at her sister. "Scar, just stop talking please." Scarlett rolled her eyes, one hand rested absentmindedly on her stomach.

"Ben, honey, if you wanna stare at my sister like a love sick puppy, do it in your own time."

Jaiden groaned, covering her face with her hands. She really didn't want to look at anyone. How was she meant to survive living with her sister?

"Somebody murder me." Her voice was muffled by her hands.

What the hell was Scarlett going to be like when Jaiden did have a boyfriend? She did the same with Alan when he was younger. Apparently, being the eldest meant making fun of the younglings. She remembered when Alan brought girlfriends home, this meant the relationship was serious; Scarlett would torment them to the point of the girlfriend leaving due to mortification. In all honesty, she was amazed that Ben hadn't run to the hills.

"I think I might dig a hole and stay there," Ben mumbled to himself, thinking no one would hear him.

Obviously they did, "What about Jaiden, Ben? Maybe she could go with you and-" Scarlett started but Jaiden cut her off.

"Okay! I think that's enough for one day, Scar! Now do you mind shutting the fuck up please and going the fuck away. I think it would be better if you left us alone. " Scarlett's shaped eyebrows knotted together, her lips twisted in an annoyed manner, and then she stormed into the house. Jaiden automatically sighed, realising that she may have been too harsh.

"Language young lady. Do we have to have this conversation again? Will you actually listen this time? And then you can go apologise to your sister. It's been hard for her lately and you know that" Alan told her sternly.

Sighing, Jaiden pinched the bridge of her nose and feeling ashamed of herself. All she wanted to do was sleep. Today was turning out to be the worst day ever. First moving, then the bullies spitting out unpleasant words, now her siblings either telling her off (she was sixteen her Christ sake!) or teasing her with no remorse. What else could possibly go wrong?

"Lay off a bit, Alan." The man snapped his fiery gaze towards Ben.

If looks could kill, Ben would have been hacked to pieces. Alan's eyes turned into slits, the lines on his forehead creased deeply.

"Excuse me boy?" he sauntered over to the teen slowly, a dangerous glint in his eye. Ben gulped, as if regretting his decision to speak. Jaiden observed them; she didn't make a move to do anything because she was incapable of controlling her brother.

In times like these, Jaiden wished she wasn't a pathetic excuse for a human being. She tried so hard to be something brave and noticeable but she could never be that. She observed the world, she never interfered. She learnt her lesson of interfering a long time ago. Before her thoughts could throw her into an endless pit of doubt, voices brought her back.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything," Ben and Alan, who had almost been nose to nose, drew back from each other. The former positioned himself closer to Jaiden. Wiggling her glass on her nose, she glanced up at him, eyes roaming his face briefly.

She adored his piercing blue eyes as well as his slightly large ears, no one was perfect. Although his height was intimidating, he was a softie. _Jesus Christ Jaiden stop ogling him, he's gonna notice_, one of her inner voices snapped, her vision relocated away from him and over to the newcomer. 

"It's nothing Mom." Ben tore his gaze away from Alan and over to his mother. Renee Paul raised an eyebrow questionably, glancing between the two "It didn't look like nothing," Huffing, Ben folded his arms together. The older woman eyed the two of them, before she focused her attention Jaiden; a warm smile graced her lips, her dimples appearing.

"Jaiden, sweetheart!" She exclaimed, waddling her way over to the teen. When she was close enough, Renee pulled her into a tender hug, "How are you? Excited about moving?" She questioned, curiosity laced in her tone. The two drew back.

"I'm great, Mrs Paul. On moving, not so great." Displeasure flittered across the woman's features, clearly not liking Jaiden's answer. Quickly, Jaiden peered back at her brother, who simply watched on.

"After twelve years you still call me Mrs Paul?" Jaiden grinned sheepishly, shrugging nonchalantly. Habits die hard. "Mom where's Dad and Amy?" Ben wondered, bringing his mother's attention away from Jaiden and back to Ben. Renee made motion to answer but as if on cue, a car honked. Being closer to the road, Ben and Jaiden flinched in surprise.

Two set of laughs were heard from inside the car, one was a low, throaty chuckle, whilst the other was a high-pitched cackle. An ancient yet classic 1965 Chevy Impala stationed itself of the sidewalk. The window rolled down, a man in his late forties with greying hair and hair arms at the wheel and a doe eyed young girl located besides him.

"Sorry kids, I hope I didn't make you poop your pants." Robert Paul grinned cheekily, cutting the engine off. The teen's side stepped for him to climb out of the car. "Dad…" Ben whined, clearly humiliated.

Nonetheless, the corner of Jaiden's lips turned upright. Ben's parents were truly something else, as was his younger sister. Unexpectedly, Jaiden was tackled to the ground, her ass landing sorely on the concrete. Petite arms wrapped around her middle, the form residing on her lap.

"Amy…" The remaining standing up watched the scene

"Do you really have to go, Jay?" She all but sobbed. Amy buried her head into Jay's chest, clinging to the teen as much as possible. Swiftly, she glanced up at the four; the Pauls frowned at Amy's actions whereas her brother started to slip away to the house. Briefly, they made eye contact. **_I'm going to get the car ready, _**he mouthed. She gave a single nod before returning to Amy.

"Yeah I do have to go, Amy," She whispered, her tone one of melancholy.

Amy lifted her head away from Jaiden's chest and peered at her. Sniffling, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"Okay," Amy sighed in defeat before slowly sliding off her lap. In the distance, the rumble of the engine started. The five of them glanced back, to see Alan in his truck, Scarlett residing in the passenger seat. Placing her hands on the concrete, she hefted herself off the ground.

Jaiden suddenly found her converse very interesting. They had had their day, any form of white that had been there before had turned into a filthy grey colour, the logo had lost all its lettering but she didn't give a damn if they were ancient because the older things were the best.

Now she was leaving everything 'old' behind. Each day leading to moving had caused her heart to crack. At some point she had accepted moving; she was a sixteen years old, she needed to learn to grow up if she was ever going to make it in the world. Her brother was becoming a hero of the USA; she didn't have time to be selfish or a bitch about all of this. Jaiden was willing to make sacrifices no matter what.

"Do you have to go so soon?" Ben pondered, her eyes lifted to gaze at him. He was miserable, that much was obvious.

"Yeah, Scarlett wants to be home before Nate and Jimmy plus Alan wants to get rid of me," She gave a shaky laugh, tears starting to prick in her eyes. Ben nodded in defeat, realising that he couldn't change what was about to happen.

"There's no need to cry Jaiden, you're gonna see us again," Robert informed her, the curve of his lip turned upwards.

"I know but it isn't gonna be the same, if you know what I'm saying," They turned into a comfortable yet empty silence.

She stared at the family before her, a family who have joined the roller-coaster ride that was the Matthews. Her siblings were waiting for her patiently in the truck. Scarlett observed them in the street; her eyebrows upturned in a sympathetic manner. Alan stared straight ahead, one hand clutching the wheel, his arm resting on the frame of the window.

"I guess this is it," Jaiden stated, breaking the silence.

"Come here sweetheart'." Renee gestured with open arms. Jaiden enveloped herself into the woman's arms, feeling like she was a little child again. She felt lips connect with her head. Briefly Jaiden closed her eyes.

No one had done that to her in a long time. Only her mother ever used to do that. Her mother used to sing her to sleep and as soon as her eyes had started to droop, her mother left a gentle kiss on top of her head; finishing the melody until she had disappeared past the bedroom door frame. Giving her one last squeeze, Renee released Jaiden.

Unexpectedly, Robert looped his arm around her neck in order to ruffle her hair up. Good-heartedly, Jaiden pushed him away, a soft giggle escaping her lips. "You be careful young lady," He commanded joyfully.

"Yes, sir," She mocked saluted. This caused everyone to laugh. Having already said her goodbye to Amy, Jaiden turned to face her best friend.

For a moment or two they just gazed at each other; neither of them noticing the three moving to the Impala. _You're gonna see him again_, one voice called in her head, **_Yes but_**_**it's not gonna be the same**_, the other came.

_Of course it is, he's gonna be the same Ben, calm down._

**_No he's not, he might have a girlfriend, so act on your feelings before it's too late!_**

_You should have acted a long time ago _

**_Well why can't she act now?_**

_He'll get the wrong message!_

**_Do it!_**

_Don't!_

She tuned out the voices and just thought independently. There would always be that stage in life when someone started to develop feelings- romantic- feelings for your guy best friend. Something would always trigger that feeling but to Jaiden, she always felt that way. As they grew up, love edged closer to the border line of friendship and she didn't even realise it was happening. But when her heart beat became quicker when she was with him or she grinned like a fool when she thought about him, she knew she was stuck.

Quite frankly she didn't mind, though she wasn't sure how he felt. If he felt anything she did, she'd be overwhelmed but would it destroy their friendship? If any girl were to date Ben (who wouldn't) they would be the luckiest person in the world. He would treat her like she was the most special person in all creation. Now, she wished she should have acted sooner.

"So…" She began sheepishly, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets.

"So…" Ben repeated, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.

"I-I'll come down to Macon whenever I can, I-I'll make sure of it." He promised, his voice cracking slightly. "You better or I'll hunt your ass down," She teased, tears pricking in her eyes. Both of them took a step forward to each other and met halfway for the hug. As she embraced him, her throat tightened.

_God you're being so dramatic about this_, one of the voices from earlier called. She chose to ignore it completely and just let the tears fall. Ben absentmindedly drew soothing circles on her back; he rested his chin on top of her head. His arms circled her shoulder protectively; she once said to him that she felt safe with him, especially when he gave her hugs. He would do whatever he could to protect her, even if he was a wimp. She was his best friend… no she was more than that; she definitely wasn't a sister to him.

No, that would be weird… Jaiden was Jaiden. To him, she was the lunatic that he had pretty much fallen for. He loved mocking her small height and her blindness; in return she loved teasing him about how he blushed every time someone touched him and his giant height. They were inseparable.

Jaiden detached her head from his chest to gaze up at him; craning her neck to do so. He paused with his circle motions to gaze at her as well. "I'll miss you Benny," Her glasses were crooked on her nose. Fondly, he reached up to make them straight again, then brushed away the tears that remained on her face. He rested his hand on her face to which to she leaned into.

Ben felt his cheeks grow hot, not quite used to this level of intimacy. The cheeky grin on her face meant that Jaiden had noticed his blush. He could feel Alan's eyes burning holes in the back of his head, though he was more interested in Jaiden. "I-I'll m-miss you too, Jay," He stuttered, causing her grin to grow. She reached onto her tiptoes, bringing her closer to Ben's face.

_Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit, is she going to kiss me? Oh shit, what do I do? I've kissed before but what if I get it wrong. Oh shit, this is Jay! Wha- _Then her lips made contact with his scorching hot cheek, making his whole face turn a deeper shade of red.

"You think I was gonna kiss you?" She wondered.

"N-no, no. Um, m-maybe? No wait, uh-" He paused when she started to chuckle. "I'll kiss you another day," She winked, a playful glint in her eyes. His breathing quickened, his face going so red that it could be seen from miles away.

"Calm down Benny, you're gonna have a heart attack!" Her tone was one of seriousness, she rested her hands on is upper arms. Gulping, Ben forced his breathing to slow down.

"Are you gonna be any longer, Jay?" Scarlett's voice drifted over, slightly impatient. Jaiden willed herself to ignore her hormonal sister. "Before I forget, I have something for you,"

Hastily, Jaiden dashed to the truck. Flinging the back seat door open, she dived in. Ben eyed her movements, unsure as to what she was doing. After several seconds in the back of the truck, she popped out again. Not bothering to shut the door, she ambled back over to him. "Here," With one hand adjusting her glassed, Jaiden handed him some sort of jewellery.

Inspecting the object closer, it was a necklace. The necklace appeared to be something a five year old would make. There were numerous multi-coloured beads; all in different shapes. Some were flowers, other hearts or spheres. Frowning, he brought his gaze away from the necklace and back to the girl in front of him, whom had a sweet smile plastered on her face. Jaiden noted his confusion and gave a breathy chuckle.

"Do you remember in Kindergarten when Miss Jackson said we had to create something amazing with a piece of string and a bunch of beads?" She questioned, trying to jog his memory. His eyebrows furrowed closer together.

"No,"

Jaiden let out an exaggerated huff, "Well, it was only a few days after I met you in the park and I'd decided that you'd be my best friend forever, so I made you this, somehow it was meant to signify our relationship or whatever. I never got the chance to give it to you. I was gonna wait for the perfect opportunity. And this is it," She explained.

Ben curled his fingers around the necklace. In all honesty he was speechless and for a moment he gawked at her.

"Ben?" She waved her arms everywhere, trying to catch his attention.

"Benny?" She tried again. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head to bring himself out of his shock. "Wow," was all that fell out of his mouth.

"Fucking Hell, Jaiden, get in this damn car for fuck sake or I'll make you. You're gonna see him again. We don't need any of your fucking teenage drama shit!" Jaiden sucked in a deep breath, trying not to become even more pissed off with her brother.

"You heard the boss," She stated, a hint of irritation written across her face. "Go, I'll call you later," he promised. Jaiden bobbed her head, mock saluting him, to which he mimicked. In silence, Jaiden clambered into the truck, semi-slamming the door shut behind her. "Hey, don't fucking do that!" Alan seethed, scowling at Jaiden through the rear view mirror. Rather than retaliating, she rolled the window down to see her best friend on the sidewalk better.

"Be safe, Benny," She ordered, a hint of mirth in her tone. Ben's lip quirked upwards, "I-I will, Jay,"

She made a motion of pointing two fingers on her eyes before redirecting them towards Ben, mocking glaring as well. The window was forced up by Alan, nearly trapping her arm in the glass and the frame.

"You're a fucking asshole," She stated as he drove away, Ben's lanky form fading away rapidly in the distance. Jaiden rested her elbow on her on the frame of the window, her chin placed in the palm of her hand; her eyes followed the rapidly moving scenery before her. "Don't fucking talk to me like that," Alan ordered sternly, knuckles turning white on the wheel.

"Well then don't treat me like a piece of shit," She retorted, her eyes dropping from lack of sleep. Car journeys somehow made her sleepy. Alan made a motion to continue the argument but Scarlett stepped in. "Jesus Christ guys, please! These arguments have been going on for too long now. Both of your grow up for fuck's sake!" Neither Alan nor Jaiden commented, instead continued with their tasks.

"I'm sorry Scar, about earlier," Scarlett turned her body to face her little sister. "No biggie Jay,"

* * *

Ben followed the truck's trail with gloomy eyes, his arms limp at his sides. He didn't care if she had just moved an hour or two away; the days wouldn't be the same. He may seem clingy and her vice-versa but when something has slipped away, you don't realise how much you need it in your life.

"C'mon Ben, let's get going," His father's hand came to rest his shoulder, giving him a small squeeze. With a final pat on his shoulder, Robert's hand slipped off of Ben's shoulder and made way for the Impala again. Clutching the necklace, he spun on his heel towards the car. "What's that in your hand Ben?" Amy wondered as the boy in question climbed into the back. He stuffed the necklace in his jacket pocket before crossing his arms across his chest. "Something Jay gave me," He replied, now staring at the houses flying by.

"Did she give me anything?"

His eyes flickered over to his sister for a second, his parents observing the conversation with perked ears. He shook his head, which caused Amy to pout and slid down her seat. "Now don't pout young lady, Jaiden's done a lot for you, remember that." Renee twisted her body to look sternly at Amy. The latter suddenly made her posture straighter, though her lips were still pulled into a pout. Despite himself, Ben cracked a small grin over his sisters' actions.

* * *

Whilst in the truck on the way to Macon, Jaiden contemplated about how her life might turn out in Macon. Hopefully, she actually made some friends. In Stone Mountain, she didn't have many, being the school joke; it was hard to gain any friends at all. Ben, Travis and Evie were the only she could call her friends. Though, the boys had their own group. At this moment in time, the boys were members in the School band. They were fantastic.

Evie was the artistic genius, anything she drew, even if it was a five minute sketch or a week's long painting, would be classed as amazing. Whereas Jaiden was an inventor, she wasn't talented at it, but it was something she loved to do. If you gave her a piece of scrap metal and all the right tools, it could become set of cutlery, safe and ready to use. Little things made a difference.

Discreetly, Jaiden glanced at her siblings. Alan's furious behaviour earlier had completely gone. Any fury had washed away, now her brother appeared to be wearier and there were dark circles under his eyes, which seemed to be more noticeable than before. A wave of guiltiness washed over her and she mentally kicked herself. Her brother had done a lot for her during the past eleven years of her life. He cared for her when Mom went to jail and Dad died. Basically, he did a whole lot of shit for her.

She turned her attention back to the scenery. The sun had hidden itself in the clouds, causing there to be no sunlight gracing the streets full of houses. They were close to Scarlett's home now, just a few more blocks away. She should really start to call Scarlett's house, home but home is where the heart is and Stone Mountain was her home. Nothing could change that.

The truck's engine came to a halt, signalling that they had arrived.

"Well, shit," Jaiden muttered. In the drive way was Nate's truck and Nate was the last person she wanted to see. She always wondered what her sister saw in him. He was a little piece of rude, nasty, crazy piece of shit. He scared the crap out of her.

"Jay, how many times do I have to tell you, Nate isn't a bad guy," Scarlett sounded exasperated as she spoke. In the back, Jaiden gave her a 'are you fucking kidding me' look. "Just get out of the car, Jay," Alan ordered. Reluctantly, Jaiden exited the car.

"Mommy!" A young boy, no older than six came barrelling towards them. He immediately clung to Scarlett's legs. "Jimmy, have you a good boy for your Daddy?" She wondered her voice full love and gentleness. "When ain't he a good boy sweetheart," A gruffer voice came a few feet away, which made Jaiden want to hide away forever.

Standing at the front doorway was Nate. He had a smug look, _nothing different there_, Jaiden thought. His usual blue cap was positioned on his head, stubble littered his jaw line, the bags under his eyes had increased. Overall, nothing new was with Nate. He was still the same sexist, dirty alcoholic.

"Jay-Jay! How's my favourite girl!" He exclaimed, coming closer to them. Jaiden glared daggers at the man, her arms covering her small chest. "I'm not your girl," She spat out venomously. "Jay, don't talk to Nate that way," Scarlett commanded, an irked tone in her voice.

"Don't worry 'bout it darlin'," Nate waved her off, his eyes still glued on Jaiden. The latter shifted uncomfortably under his lingering gaze. Luckily, Alan cleared his throat, "You wanna help me put all this stuff inside," Nate tore his eyes away from her and to Alan,

"Will do, Ally," Nate grinned cheekily. Alan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes; Jaiden saw his reaction and the side of her lip quirked upwards. "Do you want any help?" Jaiden asked. "Nah, you're alright sweetheart. This is a man's job." This time it was Jaiden who blocked the urge to roll her eyes. "Let's just get in the house Jay," Nodding, she listened to her sister and followed them into the house. _Well this is going to be fun._


	4. Ash And Dust

'Ash and Dust'

**A month later **

Jaiden had never been a morning person, most people her age weren't either. She crept down the stairs silently, wanting no one, especially _him _to see her in the state she was in. Her neck length, ashy blonde hair was in complete disarray, her square framed glasses where angled oddly atop of her nose and her deep blue eyes were bloodshot, from either the lack of sleep or the recurring nightmares she had been having lately. As she entered the living room, there was a lone figure sitting on the coach. It was Nate. Jaiden cursed herself; the only way to get into the kitchen was through the living room. She certainly didn't want to disturb him. Whenever she was alone with him or nearly touching him, fear overcame her. She had learnt her lesson from him a few days back; don't get on the wrong side of Nate Richardson.

* * *

_"Jay-Jay! Had a good day at school?" Nate wondered as the teen came through the door. She completely ignored him; she didn't have time for his shit today. _

_It was as if she was becoming the school joke, again. Being the new girl meant everyone made fun of her. Either because of what she looked like or were she came from, she didn't know. Quite frankly she didn't give a damn. Her science teacher humiliated her in front of the whole class; she didn't even what to think about it. But everyone laughed. With heavy footsteps, Jaiden made way to the garage, where she spent most of her time nowadays. Nate had been 'kind' enough to let her use it for all her inventions. Really, all he wanted to do was watch her like a creep. _

_There was a small window that connected the kitchen and the garage together. She couldn't sleep anymore, knowing that he was near. Sometimes, before sleep consumed her, the bedroom door would open and a large shadow engulfed any light from the hallway. She would squeeze her eyes tightly and prayed for him to leave her alone. She prayed that her big brother was here to protect her but he was across the other side of the world. She prayed that her best friend was here with her but he was miles away. Scarlett was utterly oblivious about the fact her husband had an affixation with her little sister. The problem was she head over heels in love with the bastard and she couldn't see past her emotions._

_"C'mon Jay! There's no fuckin' need to be like that. I'm your guy!" Jaiden gave him the deadliest of glares she could. _

_"I don't have time for you fucking shit, Nate." She spat out, stopping in her tracks. His eyes narrowed slightly, "That's not fuckin' nice, Jay-Jay. I was only askin' how you day went. Don't give me that fuckin' tone," He ordered, which caused Jaiden's jaw to clench. _

_"Like you fucking care and don't tell me what to do you son of a bitch. You're not my dad; you're fucking no one to me. All you are is a fucking creepy prick who likes to ogle sixteen year old girls." Jaiden snapped, finally letting out all the rage that had been building inside of her._

_ Then she realised that it was a massive mistake. _

_Nate lunged for her. Acting quickly, Jaiden dived out of the way and onto the floor. A whole new level of fear overwhelmed her. Hastily, she attempted to scramble to her feet, only to be pulled back down by the ankle. Her head connected with the end table. Immediately, she felt the cut form and it bled down her face. Her glasses slipped from her nose; causing her vision to become a blur. Nate's nails were digging painfully into her ankle, so with her free foot she kicked him. She must have hit the right stop because he howled in agony. _

_"You fuckin' bitch!" _

_Seeking the opportunity, Jaiden crawled away she fast as she could. She patted the ground in search for her glasses. The blood from her cut flowed down the side of her face, some of it entering her mouth, to which she spat it back out. Her fingers made contact with her glasses. Shakily, she placed them on her nose. When her vision cleared, Nate was nowhere to be found. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jaiden stood straight again and slowly ambled over to the stairs. As soon as she placed a foot on the first step, someone grabbed her shoulders, causing her to open her mouth to scream. Only it was covered by a hand that smelt strongly of smoke. _

_"Boo," He whispered in her ear, his breath floated over to her nostrils, to which she stopped breathing altogether. Roughly, he slammed her body onto the wall next to them. He placed a hand on the left side of her face, whilst the other held tightly onto her exposed elbow. His eyes were wide, in an almost psychopathic way; his yellow teeth were bared as if he were an animal. Jaiden felt herself shaking in fear and her eyes were as wide as plates. What was he going to do? _

_"I-I am s-so," She began only for Nate to shove her into the wall. _

_"Shut the fuck up, you bitch," He commanded. She gulped and tears started to prick in her eyes. _

_"I ain't done nothin' but be fuckin' nice to you! I've fuckin' let you stay under my roof, but like the whiny bitch you fuckin' are, you come in her fuckin' disrespecting me. I suggest you fuckin' stop otherwise I will do much, much worse. I'll make you scream and no one will hear you. I'll hurt you so fuckin' bad, you wish you were dead. You watch your fuckin' back Jaiden Matthews because I'll be comin' for you, I'll be watching and you can't escape," He paused, his eyes travelled the length of her small body, a dirty smirk crossed his lips. Tears were flowing freely out of her eyes like no tomorrow. _

_"Do you understand me?" Her head bowed down, not wanting to see his face anymore. He clasped her chin in his hand and directed her to face him. _

_"__**Do. You. Under-fucking-stand. Me. Jay?**__" He emphasised each and every word. She nodded numbly, "Y-yes," She stumbled with her words. "Good," He let go of her chin as well as her elbow. Her eyes followed him as he made way for the kitchen. Once he had disappeared, her form slumped to the floor, sobbing._

* * *

When Scarlett questioned them, Nate had explained that she had gotten into a fight at school. Her sister was sceptical about that; she had gone along with it anyway. Jaiden knew that Scarlett would believe Nate over her any day. As fast as she could, she sprinted over to the kitchen, hoping that Nate wouldn't catch her. "Jay-Jay!" He called, sounding much too happy. She sighed; was she that naïve to believe she wouldn't be caught? At the moment, it was a yes, she was that stupid. As she turned on her heel, she plastered a fake grin.

"Hey, Nate,"

"You weren't tryin' to avoid me were ya?" He wondered, a grin on his own face.

"N-no," She lied, which he saw right through. Any jokey attitude had disappeared and was replaced with a stern expression.

"Don't lie to me kid," She downcast her eyes to her bare feet. An uncomfortable silence came. She fidgeted under his gaze, not liking it all but she was too afraid to stand up for herself. All the confidence she had, was gone the single moment he lunged for her the other day.

"This fuckin' avoidin' business isn't because of last week is it?" When she didn't reply, he immediately knew the answer was yes. She heard him sigh, the get to his feet. Awkwardly, she clasped her arms behind her back and started to shuffle from the wooden floor to the tiled one in the kitchen. A hand gently laid itself on her bare shoulder. She flinched away from him, hoping that he wasn't planning to do a repeat of his actions last week.

"Look, I'm not gonna apologise for somethin' that you started last week. If it weren't for your fuckin' mouth, maybe I wouldn't 've blown a fuse," Her eyes flickered up to his features, she didn't even acknowledge that it was indeed her own fault, all that mattered was he attempted to hurt her.

"Let's not have repeat, 'kay kid? Just next time, watch what you say," She gave a single nod. He patted her shoulder twice before making his way back to the couch. Not wanting to be near him anymore, Jaiden drifted into the kitchen, in search for some breakfast. Whilst doing that task, she thought about her new town.

Macon wasn't as dreadful as she thought it was going to be. Everyone was lovely, especially the drug store owners. Mr Everett was an amusing old man. He ambled around everywhere on his cane; he kept order in the store. Mrs Everett was much the same, though she was more of the stereotypical sweet grandma. Sometimes, when Jaiden didn't have anyone to talk to, she would go down to the drug store and converse with them. Even if it sounded like she was loner, the Everetts were good people and they didn't mind that much. Their son, Bill, was sweet and she could tell he would do whatever he could for his family.

Apparently, they had a son named Lee who worked up in Atlanta as a history teacher at UGA but they didn't talk about him much. She never pressed on; their private lives were their lives not hers. It was none of her business; it would be rude to intrude. All she knew that Lee was a good man and she took their word for it. Jaiden had been so engrossed in her thoughts, she completely forgot about the bread in the toaster, until the smell of burning reached her nostrils.

"Oh shit!" She all but shrieked. Hurriedly, she switched the plug off to stop the process altogether. From behind her, she heard several footsteps. "Jesus-fucking-Christ Jaiden! What's the noise about!" Scarlett complained. A gasp followed closely behind, "Mommy! That was a swear!" Jaiden rolled her eyes, hoping no one would notice. Luckily no one did.

"Yeah, mommy! No swear words with kids here!" Nate teased. She chose to zone them out, as her sister and brother in law tended to get flirty first thing in the morning. Carefully, she grabbed the toast out of the toaster. Studying the burnt piece of food, she decided that it was inedible and tossed it into the trash.

"Jay! You shouldn't skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day," Jaiden twisted her body one-hundred and eighty degrees to stare at her sister. Her skinny little arms were positioned on her hips in a disapproving manner and her expression was one of irritation. The teen shrugged, not bothered at all. "Oh well, I'm not hungry anyways." She didn't let anyone have the opportunity to comment for she rushed towards the stairs and into her bedroom to start the day with a clean shower as well as set of new clothes.

* * *

She slipped her arm through the sleeve before then buttoning up her plaid green shirt. For a second, she observed herself in the mirror. She had never been pretty, that is what she's always figured. Her ears weren't aligned, one of them stuck out more than the others. She was naturally pale, which sucked to no end because in the sun she would turn into a tomato, even if she had sun cream on. Her complexion had a few scars from where she had picked at the acne. She never wore make up either, what was the point? It didn't make her look pretty. Most girls had so much on; they might as well have been clowns. Another thing that bugged her was the fact she wasn't skinny, skinny as in cheerleader skinny. In all honesty she was soft around the edges.

Shaking her head, she removed herself from the mirror and over to the window, where she kept most of her jewellery. Gingerly, she grabbed her father's wedding ring and slid it onto her thumb. It was a stupid place to wear a ring but her thumb was the only place the ring would fit. Alan had given the ring to her on her thirteenth birthday, feeling that she deserved it more than anyone else did. At the time, she had no idea what that meant and to this she still didn't know.

She gazed out her window, which faced the street. Upon closer observation, she saw several lone figures shuffling slowly down the street, they all looked like crap. Their clothes were tattered or ripped to shreds but she was unable to make out the faces. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was curious. The family of five opposite her were too gazing out of the window, though they seemed to be much more terrified. She shrugged; maybe the figures were drunk or something. Jaiden moved away from the window to collect her phone, which was on the bedside table. As soon as it was in the palm of her hand, the phone vibrated, signalling that she had a text. Unknowingly, a soft smile formed on her face, it was Ben.

**Leaving for playoffs, wish me luck.**

**_You'll be fine Benny, just imagine everyone is in their underwear._**

When he replied, she rolled her eyes. **That never works Jay**

**_It does for me. Have fun, talking to me is the opposite_**

Jaiden lay on the floor in order to search for her head phones. Normally, they were under her bed, hell, she didn't know where she placed her possessions most of the time. Her phone buzzed but she chose to ignore it for the time being. Seeing that her headphones were not under her bed, Jaiden removed herself off the floor.

**No, you're a cool gal. **

She raised an eyebrow at 'gal' but she refrained herself from commenting on it. She knew he became embarrassed easily. She could imagine if she teased him over the phone, all the boys on the bus would wonder why he was blushing and they would just make fun of him. She didn't want that.

**_See ya Benny xxx_**

She began to open various drawers, still searching for her headphones. "Where the fuck, are you?" She wondered, her tone one of irritation. One of these days, she'd have to remember where she left her belongings or she wouldn't get far in life. In the last box, she found them. Enthusiastically, she placed the ear bud in each ear before connecting it to her phone. At random, she selected a song.

Asia blasted through her ears, making her wince as to how loud the volume was. Not bothering to turn it down, she sang her heart out; despite the fact her singing was shit. She played the guitar with imaginary strings, she was alone, and no one would see how ridiculous she appeared to be. "_I never meant to be so bad to you, one thing I said that I would never do. A look from you and I would fall from grace. And that would wipe the smile right from my face,"_

She belted the first verse at the top of her lungs. Closing her eyes, she danced around the room like an idiot. Her arms flayed in all sort of directions. The moment the chorus came, she halted any further dance moves. "_It was the heat of the moment, telling me what my heart meant_

_The heat of the moment showed in your eyes. _Wooo!" She wailed. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm. This alarmed Jaiden for she jumped out of her skin, causing her phone to fly out of her hand and the ear phones following shortly afterwards. Her mouth opened to scream, only for it to be covered. "Shut up, Jay-Jay," Nate hissed. She froze, afraid he would repeat his actions from the other day. Studying his features, she noticed he wasn't pissed; rather his face was etched in distress and slight melancholy. As the briefest moments of silence came, Jaiden could hear many screams in the distance as well as various gunshots.

"Now, keep fucking quiet. Got it?" She bobbed her head up and down rapidly. "What the fuck is going on?" She whispered, seeing Nate's expression didn't reassure her at all, he never seemed so frightened before.

"I don't even know. I was outside with Jim when these… _things…_ came outta no fucking where. They came towards us but I got us outta there quick," he paused, taking a deep breath, "We gotta get outta here. Have this," He handed her a baseball bat before tugging on her arm. Being stubborn, Jaiden stayed firmly on her feet.

"Where are they?" Sighing, Nate turned back to face her, "Scar and Jim are down stairs, now let's fuckin' go!" He ordered. Jaiden narrowed her eyes slightly, she knew he meant well but he didn't need to be like that.

"What about our stuff?" She halted any further progress again, Nate growled, undoubtedly sick of her questions. "Who gives a fuck? We need—" He paused mid-sentence when a blood curdling scream rippled throughout the house.

It was Scarlett.

Hurriedly, the duo sprinted down the stairs to get to them, only to arrive to a horrific scene. Several of these _things_ had broken the door down and were swarming the house. Jimmy had cowered in the corner; one of the things had taken notice of him and was approaching him. Jaiden watched on, her whole body racked with terror, these things appeared to be… _zombies. _

Their flesh had a greyish tint to it and it was peeling off. Their eyes were a cloudy white in colour and their clothes were tattered and torn. Overall, it was disgusting. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't do anything, and how on earth was she meant to kill freaking zombies?! Scarlett was screaming at the top of her lungs, which caused more of them too shuffle over to her. Blood poured freely out of the wounds that scattered her body. There was quite a large one on her abdomen. Jaiden felt bile rise in her throat, this was all so, so wrong. Her sister was carrying a child!

"Jay! Get Jim and get outta here,"

"Wha-what?"

"Just fuckin' go!"

He screamed before attacking the zombies. Clutching the baseball bat, Jaiden sprang into action. She approached Jimmy with quick feet; the zombie was reaching out for him with greedy hands. Raising the baseball bat above her head, she brought it back down, where it made contact with the zombies' head. It gave a grunt, her eyes widened; realising that her actions could lead to her doom. Rather than dwelling on her fate, she dodged out of the way. She scooped up the frightened six year old, holding him with one arm, the other holding the bat. She rushed out of the door, not glancing back, in fear of what she would witness. Her nephew clung to her, his body shaking and tears falling from his eyes. Jaiden willed herself not to sob; right now she had to keep Jimmy safe.

As she entered the street, she found that there were hundreds of these monsters. Many people were being eaten alive, woman, men, elders and children. Not wanting to watch anymore, Jaiden ran as fast as she could. It proved to be difficult with Jimmy's extra weight. She wasn't the strongest person, physically and emotionally but she wasn't important at this moment in time. Her top priority was Jimmy. Her converse covered feet pounded on the smooth grey smooth concrete.

The concrete was covered in thick, crimson blood as well as people's insides. The coppery smell of blood filled her nostrils, to which she tried to ignore. Several of the monsters pounced on her but she dodged them with ease. Despite the fact of being shit at any form of sport, adrenaline was pumping through her veins and that was keeping her fast. People around her were giving ear-piercing cries for help. She desperately wanted to save them but she just couldn't take that risk. Call her selfish, her mind was just telling her to keep going.

Becoming more aware of her surroundings, Jaiden had no clue as to where she was and this street seemed less manic than the others. There were no monsters in sight, so she turned her speed into walking pace. Jimmy's tears soaked her plaid shirt. Gently, she stoked his ginger curls and muttered comforting words. All she wanted to do was keep her nephew safe.

Something grabbed her ankle.

This was it. This was the end. She knew it was. Jimmy flew out of her arms, landing with a rough thud in front of her. The baseball bat rolled next to her, only a foot away.

"JAY!" He screeched. One of the monsters growled at her like an animal. Her mind briefly flashed back to Nate's attempted assault last week. So she kicked. She kicked with all the strength she had but the monster was too strong. In the corner of her eye, she noticed that other monsters were shuffling over to the scene. Whilst kicking, she stretched out for the baseball bat. Jimmy's screams filled her ears, which caused her to panic.

"NO!" With a battle cry she grasped the bat and went to swat the monster, only for someone to stomp on its head, killing it instantly. The saviours hand came into her vision, without hesitation, she clasped it in her own to give her a boost up. "Let's go,"

"But my nephew…" She glanced back to Jimmy, only to find his corpse on the ground. His eyes were lifeless, staring unseeingly at the bright, blue sky. The monsters (who had appeared out of nowhere) were too busy devouring him to notice her and the saviour. His leg was bent at an odd angle; his intestines were splayed across the concrete, coating the grey in even more crimson, as if a painting on a canvas. Once again bile rose in her throat and tears pricked in her eyes. Her hands slapped over her mouth, trying to contain her whimpers. She had failed to keep him safe. All she did was fail, she never succeeded, ever. Failure seemed to follow Jaiden around like a lost puppy. The saviour tugged her arm, signalling that they should go.

"More are coming. I don't know about you but I think we should get out of here." He explained. She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her,

"I'm sorry about you nephew, I really am but if you wanna live…" He trailed off, giving her a meaningful look. "Okay," The man grasped his hand in hers and together they sprinted towards his car. They practically dived in as more monsters were catching up to them.

"I'm Glenn Rhee by the way," He introduced, his eyes fixed on the road ahead of them, "I'm Jaiden. Jaiden Matthews but you can call me Jay," She whispered, but loud enough for him to hear.

Her whole body was shaking, shaking in terror over what had just happened in the span of five minutes. This was all really messed up. Taking deep breaths, she lifted her legs and pressed them to her chest as well as wrapping her frail arms around them. "Are you okay?" Glenn wondered, his tone one of sympathy. Jaiden had never been one for sympathy in any type of situation but this time she greeted it appreciatively.

"I'm fine," Of course that wasn't true, she beyond fine. The adrenaline was slowly wearing away and turning into fatigue. It all happened so quickly, she was frightened, so, so afraid. This only happened in the movies and video games. Movies like _Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead. _This was more intense, more gory and grim. This was Hell on Earth. "You sure?"

Jaiden rotated her head to gaze at Glenn, whom was staring at her as well. "I'm sure," She offered him a faux smile. Something flickered in his eyes, _doubt, _but she took no notice. He eyed her for a few more seconds before returning to the road. The road they travelled on had only a few monsters. Most of them too notice to the rumble of the car but others were too interested in consuming those less fortunate than her and Glenn. "This is all fucked up," Glenn commented for he too had been observing the street.

"I know. By the way, thanks for saving me," Nervously, she fiddle with the frame of her glasses, she had never been too good when conversing with strangers. "No problem, Jay. I couldn't let another person be eaten by those things, especially a girl like you," His statement caused her to scoff. Any melancholy quickly transformed into fury. The fury had numerous of reasons but Glenn's comment triggered it.

"What do you mean a girl like me?" She snapped. Jaiden lowered her legs onto the car floor, her fists clenching together dangerously. Glenn visibly

gulped, realising that he had touched a nerve, to which he regretted. "Sorry. Sorry. I-I mean, I'd seen lots of other girls get ripped to pieces, Jesus, I've seen kids and you were in trouble and I-I just wanted to save someone. I didn't mean to say something that annoyed you. Sorry," Jaiden relaxed, knowing she was just overacting over nothing. "No, I'm sorry. It's just… y'know," She shrugged and her arms gestured to the destruction outside.

"Yeah I do know," The two of them lapsed into silence. Glenn kept his eyes planted on the road whilst Jaiden collected her blood stained baseball bat from the floor and onto her lap just in case she would need it. This could last a long time or only a few days but until then she needed to be strong now, she would have to grow up. Jaiden had already failed those she loved; she sure as hell wasn't going to let other die. She swore by it. A new wave of fear rippled her… Ben.

Was he alright? Was he hurt? Dead? A monster? She prayed to God that he was alright, if he wasn't, who knows what will happen to her knowing that Ben was gone too. What about Amy? Renee? Robert? Alan? Jaiden squeezed her eyes shut.

_Please be okay…_


	5. Hell On Earth

**A/N: Hello people of the world! Thanks for all the reviews, it makes my day. Please leave a review after you finish reading, I want to know what you guys think and if it's worth carrying. Anyways, most importantly, ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter Four

'Hell On Earth'

The sun shined proudly in the sky, its rays bounced off of the fragments of glass on the roads outside. Though the sun seemed joyful, the sky was not. Instead it set the mood; dreary, gloomy and sorrow. Normally, there would be morning joggers around downtown Macon, the volume of their headphones blocking out any sound in the streets. Sometimes they would wave at friends or familiar faces from the stores. But the situation was far from your ordinary morning.

Limbs and multiple organs were scattered all around, blood was smeared across broken windows of toppled over cars. Un-dead monsters roamed the streets in search for their meal. Most of them had their arms missing with skin peeling off at the ends. Others dragged themselves on the ground for they were footless or legless. Overall, it was repulsive. How had things come to be like this? One minute children were giggling, their parents watching on with content smiles on their faces, the next they were being ripped to shreds. Shaking her head, Jaiden moved away from the boarded up window and decided to mull over what happened in the past few hours.

Glenn knew all of the shortcuts and the quicker ways through Macon, for Jaiden had discovered he was Pizza Delivery Boy. He had informed her that he was on his way to do his job, when the monsters came. During most of their slow journey through Macon, they rode in silence. Occasionally, they had stopped just in case the monster had followed the rumble of the engine. Along the way, Glenn and Jaiden had come across four survivors. Lilly and her father, Larry were the first. To Jaiden, Lilly seemed like a tough, level headed woman, she wouldn't lose her shit (Jaiden hoped so). Her father, Jaiden didn't like as much, he was kind of rude and didn't care about anyone else's feelings. When they had rescued the other two survivors, Carley and Doug, he had screamed down Glenn's earhole.

He threw so many rude remarks towards him that Jaiden had blown a fuse which resulted in being verbally beaten up as well. Eventually, Lilly calmed her father, reminding him of his heart problems. Other than that, Jaiden liked Carley. She was feisty reporter and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, though it seemed that Lilly and Larry weren't too fond of her. Doug was cool too, he was your typical IT guy and Jaiden noticed that he was smitten with Carley. The majority of them had agreed on stopping for a while, in order to have some rest, despite Lilly and Larry's protests. After that they travelled to downtown Macon for some shelter, which was the drugstore.

* * *

_"Glenn, Jay, check that everything is secure, I don't want to be ambushed by even more of those things. Doug, Carley, keep watch just in case. After that we'll fix the barricades," Lilly commanded in a hushed tone as soon as they entered the store. _

_Jaiden ran a hand through her hair, taking a few breaths. The drug store was in complete disarray, shelves were knocked over, and blood covered the floor. Not wanting to look any further, Jaiden travelled around getting to work. She hoped that the Everetts had escaped before the place was overrun with monsters; she knew that Bill would protect his parents with his life but she could never be sure. When the six of them had arrived, the place was unlocked, which could mean they just left without a second thought. The drugstore was important to the Everetts as they had kept the store going for a very long time._

_"We should go check the office," Glenn suggested, his voice brought her away from her thoughts, "Yeah good idea," With one final glance at each other, they made way to the office door. Jaiden held the baseball bat so tightly that her knuckles went white. They chose to be quiet just in case there were some monsters in the room. The other four simply observed them._

_"I'll check through the keyhole," Jaiden muttered. Glenn nodded in approval. Whilst closing her left eye, Jaiden sank down to her knees as well as handing Glenn her bat. Peeking inside the office, she spied nothing but a desk pushed to the far side of the room and a bloody sleepy bag. A shuddering sigh escaped her lips; she briefly closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the door. _

_"What's fucking taking you two so long?" Larry grumbled, advancing towards them. Jaiden ignored him and placed an ear to the door. Inside, she could faint moans, "There are monsters in there," She stated whilst lifting herself up again. _

_"Don't tell us, do something about it!" He crossed his bulky arms across his chest. In truth, she couldn't do anything about it because she knew that the monsters in the office were the Everetts. She couldn't bring herself to kill them, she didn't care if they were flesh-eating monsters now, and they were people once. People she once knew and cared for. "I'm not sure if I can…" She glanced at Larry, who didn't seem thrilled with her answer._

_"What's the point of you then? I can't believe you've survived this long. Wait, someone else had to save your ass, now go help someone else and do something that matters!" Larry snapped, his hurtful words caused tears to prick in her eyes but she decided to stand up for herself, she was going to have to learn how to be tough now. She'd heard these insults too many times; she didn't need to hear them again, especially from an old man, whom she had just met. Adjusting her glasses, she made motion to retort, only for her moment to be crushed. _

_"Jay, will you help me with this shelve please?" Carley requested, Jaiden knew what she was trying to do and it worked. Jaiden visibly deflated, any confidence she had washed away, she'd rather not start a quarrel. Arguments lead to nowhere. "Sure thing, Carley,"_

_As she helped Carley with several of other tasks, she willed herself to block out the commotion coming from the office._

* * *

Now Jaiden stood in the middle of the office, lost in her own world. A million words were flying through her mind, all the voices in her head were shrieking at each other.

**This is so fucked up!**

**_What are we going to do?_**

_You're gonna lose your mind_

**Shut up! **

**_You aren't going to get anywhere!_**

_You couldn't save Scarlett or Jimmy_

**Oh My Fucking God!**

**_The old man's gonna cause problems_**

_What makes you think you can save anyone else._

By this point, she was hyperventilating. Her fingers knotted themselves into her filthy, bloodied locks, she screwed her eyes shut, wishing for the voices to go away. In the past few years, the voices had becoming increasingly louder and more predominant whenever her emotions were running wild. The only person who knew about this was Ben, who comforted her when the voices became too much. Unknowingly, tears made salty tracks down her face and a sob made its way up her throat. A hand nestled itself on her shaking shoulder, which caught her by surprise.

"Hey, it's okay. It's Carley," The reporter's tone was soothing and it calmed Jaiden down almost immediately. She refused to face Carley as she was too ashamed, instead Carley moved in front of her.

"Are you okay Jay?" She wondered, concerned about the teen's behaviour. Rather than answering, Jaiden awkwardly stared at her shoes, which were covered in muck and dried blood. It was all just blood, blood and more blood. She'd never seen so much in her life, it made her want to throw up again.

"You disappeared into the office fifteen minutes ago; we were starting to get worried. Well, me, Doug and Glenn did." Jaiden glanced up at the slightly tanned woman, who was slightly short than her by an inch or two.

"I'm sorry," Carley's expression morphed into confusion, her shaped eyebrows knitted together, an action which reminded Jaiden of her sister. "What are you apologizing for?" Jaiden shrugged, she guessed she was apologizing for a lot of things.

"I-I don't know, I shouldn't be a baby about all this," Jaiden folded her arms together sluggishly. "It's okay, this zombie apocalypse shit is a lot to take in,"

They lapsed into a brief silence, in that time; Jaiden ambled around the office poking around. Accidently, she trod on a photo frame. Removing her foot, she bent down to collect it. Gingerly, she brushed away the broken glass before scooping the picture out of the frame. Jaiden fiddled with the frame of her glasses as she observed the picture. They were all standing outside of the store.

Mr Everett had one arm wrapped around his wife's slender shoulders, his held his cane tightly to keep him upright. Bill was situated on Mr Everett's left in his pharmacy uniform and Lee (she was guessing, she had only seen his face once or twice) was positioned on Mrs Everett's right, a hand in his black slacks. All of them had bright grins plastered on their faces. They just seemed so ecstatic, it broke her heart to know that two of them were lost and the other two would be as good as dead too.

"Did you know these people?" Carley wondered from beside her, she glanced at her before returning her tired eyes to the picture. "Y-yeah. Well kinda," She began, "Mr and Mrs Everett were the kindest people, I've ever had the privilege to meet. They hated me calling them 'Mr and Mrs' but it didn't seem right calling them Jerry and Denna. This one time, some dickhead come over to me and started saying rude things. He wouldn't leave me alone and then Mr Everett came over and whooped his ass straight out of the store. After that I pretty much came to see them every other day. I helped out when I could…" She trailed off, reminding herself that was all in the past but she tried to savour any good memories she had left.

"What about the other son, Lee?" Carley pushed on, though Jaiden didn't mind as much. Normally she wasn't very good with strangers but Jaiden liked the reporter, she seemed like a loyal woman who would stick by you.

"They didn't talk about him much, I didn't ask why but for what I've been told, he was a good man. Did you know them too?" Jaiden queried, as Carley mentioned Lee, maybe she knew him.

"No but Lee was in the news a little while ago," Jaiden could sense that there was more to the story but didn't press on. "I might keep this," She mumbled, folding the picture delicately before placing it in her jean pocket. "We should head back out, Larry's bound to start getting pissed off," Carley recommended

"Sure," Together they travelled out of the office,

"So you and Doug then…" Jaiden commented, a faint blush tainted the reporters cheeks, despite her mood, the corner of Jaiden's lip tugged upwards, she was all for teasing.

"Shut up," Carley bumped Jaiden lightly with her shoulder

* * *

A little while later, it was Jaiden's turn to be on watch. Well watch was observing the streets through a tiny gap between the boards. The sun was starting to dim behind the the buildings, there were no more monsters roaming the streets. It slightly unnerved her, where had they gone? Who knew what the world was like out there. Jaiden wondered how many lives had been destroyed because of this and how it all began. Was there some kind of virus going around that seemed to infect people? Or was it the kind of situation that no one knew how it started? Either way, it was still fucked up. The teen shook her head, knowing that all these thoughts would start to muddle with her mind. Rather aggressively, Jaiden toyed her father's ring, her skin twisting along with it.

Out of no where, five people, appeared in her line of sight. She could tell that they weren't monsters. They didn't have the grayish tint to their skin nor was it peeling off, instead they were full of life.

"Shit, what are they doing?" She wondered aloud. There were two children, one boy and one girl. The girl wore a baseball cap on her head, her frizzy hair springing out from underneath, the boy was far more ahead then the others. There were three adults, one blonde, slightly plump woman, a man with a really awesome mustache and an orange cap (which seemed very similar to Nate's blue one) and a man who she had seen before…

Lee?

"Guys! There's people out there!" Jaiden seized everyone's attention and they travelled towards her. "How can there be, you're just imaging things!" Larry argued, his usual scowl coated on his features. Defensively, Jaiden folded her arms across her petite chest. "See for yourself!" She said in a hushed yet heated tone, tired of Larry's doubt.

"That door stays shut no matter what," Cries resonated from outside and without a second thought, Jaiden grabbed her baseball bat and sprinted outside, ignoring the others pleads to stop. She wouldn't let any more children die or people for that matter. She needed to start learning how to be a stronger person even if she was a pathetic, unwise teenager. A monster had knocked the boy over, prepared to devour him. The memory of Jimmy's corpse lying on the concrete flashed in her mind, this made her sprint even faster towards him.

She lifted the bat with all her might before swinging it back down, smashing the monsters head in. It landed next to the child, whose eyes were wide in fright and he was covered in the monsters filth. Gently, she lifted him up by the nook of his elbow. Several gunshots were fired from behind her. "RUN!" Glenn ordered over the gunshots. Jaiden allowed the five of them to run ahead of her before following Carley in shortly afterwards. As soon as Glenn had entered the store, she closed the doors after them.

"We can't take risks like this!" Lilly exclaimed, her attention fixed solely on the teen, who had been responsible for the rescue of the newcomers. "Well, I think saving people is more important," Jaiden stated firmly as she positioned her bat on the shelf next to her. Lilly placed a hand on her hip, her facial expression one of a disapproving manner.

"When I say 'that door stays shut no matter what', I fucking mean it," Jaiden rolled her eyes, who did she think she was? She didn't have to listen to her. "We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous," Jaiden glanced at the two men besides her. Lee folded his arms together and the other glared at Lilly. "Worse they could've led them right too us!" Larry, of course agreed with his daughter. Jaiden gave the man, the deadliest death stare she could. _What kind of person says that?_ "We have kids with us," Lee reasoned.

"I see one little girl…" he pointed to said girl, who grabbed Lee's hand, "What is it?" He whispered, instead of listening to the argument around her, she listened into their conversation, "I-I have to pee," The girl sounded very sweet, inside Jaiden melted, she'd always loved kids. "In a minute," He stated, a slightly pissed off expression written on his face. In defeat, she let go of his hand and stared at the ground.

"Hey, little girl," The girl's head snapped upwards, "I'll take you to the bathroom, I don't really want to listen to them. Is that okay with you?" Jaiden wondered. At first the girl nodded slowly, Jaiden noticed that she was afraid. "There's nothing to afraid of sweetie," Slowly, Jaiden reached for the girl's hand, the latter took it warily. Jaiden offered her a reassuring smile, to which she grinned back. "C'mon," She tugged the girl to led her away from all the mayhem going on between the adults. A mayhem that she created. Along the way, Jaiden decided to start a conversation, so she could take both their minds off what was happening. "What's your name sweetie?"

"Clem-Clementine," Jaiden glanced down at the child to see a sheepish look on her face. "As in the fruit Clementine?" She questioned, "Yeah,"

"Well it's a very beautiful name, suits you just right," Jaiden released Clementine's hand from her own, there was a bulky shelve blocking the bathroom door, it needed to be pushed. _That's odd, I could've sworn we checked every thing…_

**Maybe there wasn't a point in moving it dumbass.**

_Shut up!_

**Make me!**

**_Do you guys fucking mind?!_**

_Sorry_

**Whatever**

"T-thanks," Clementine's cheeks flushed pink, an action which reminded her of Ben. Shaking away the thought, Jaiden began to shove the shelve over. She wasn't the best person at anything physical, so she put all her effort into moving the shelve for Clementine.

"What's your name?" Jaiden paused in her task, the adults still arguing. Apparently, Larry thought the little boy had been bitten. In all honesty, he seemed to be using any excuse to rid of the strangers. "Jay. Pleased to meet you," She introduced.

"Isn't that a boy's name?" The question was so innocent, it caused Jaiden to chuckle.

"Well, my full name's Jaiden but I don't like people calling me that. I only get called that when I'm in trouble," Jaiden explained before resuming with her task. "Do you want some help?" She smiled at the little girl, "Sure, if you don't mind," Clementine waddled over and together they cleared the way to the bathroom.

Only to hear faint moaning coming from inside, "Oh fucking shit!" There must be one a monster in there. "Clem-" Jaiden began but the girl called for Lee.

"Yeah?" He answered in a distracted tone, for the quarrel was still going on. "There's someone in there!" Clementine hopped from one foot to the other, desperately needing the toilet now. "It's just locked, the key's behind the counter… properly,"

"Jay, I really have to go!" She exclaimed, panicing. "I know you do, sweetie but for now, could you maybe stand over there for a second…" Clementine's pained face became confused, as if asking why. Jadien pondered over what to tell her. She didn't want to alarm the girl by saying there was a monster in there. For Clementine, Jaiden took too long to reply, so she twisted the knob to open the door. Then she screamed.

"CLEMENTINE!" Lee yelled. Jaiden seized Clementine by the arm to move the girl away from the monster. She was weaponless but she'd be damned if it got to Clementine first. Her bat was too far away. Jaiden couldn't abandoned her in favour for the bat, she'd be willing sacrifice herself. It may sound stupid, she'd only just met the child but quite frankly, she didn't care. The monster dragged itself closer and closer to them, snatching Jaiden's leg in the process. She tried her best to shake it off but the monster was too overpowering.

"Get away from them, you son of a bitch!" With sheer force, Lee hauled the monster off of her but its jaws snapped for him. Shell-shocked, Jaiden took several steps back, her breathing laboured and her glasses crooked on her nose. A hand latched onto her own, squeezing forcefully. Jaiden watched in horror as Lee struggled with the monster, grunting as he tried to push it off him. A bullet flew into the monsters skull, dark blood squirted everywhere and it died instantly. "Man…" Lee bent down to rest his hands on his knees, panting heavily. She glanced back at the source of the shot, Carley. "You okay?" She wondered after she lowered the gun, she seemed frightened as well.

"Just great thanks," Lee replied. Jaiden gave Clementine one last comforting squeeze before freeing her hand. "Thanks for saving me, Lee," She fiddled with her thick glasses, which she often did when she was anxious. "No problem kid," Normally she would be a total bitch about someone calling her a kid but right now she couldn't care less. They had more important things to deal with. Speaking of which….

"Uh…guys?" Glenn's voice sounded vexed. Monsters started to rattle on the weak boards, their moans intensifying every second. Fearfully, she ambled backwards, caution in every step she took. "Everybody down, stay quiet!" Without a second thought, Jaiden collapsed onto the icy, tiled floor, holding her breath. The boards creaked, they weren't a decent barricade but it was all there was and it would have to do. "There gonna get in,"

"Well if you shut the fuck up maybe they won't," Jaiden retorted bitterly. She found it humorous that Larry had the nerve to talk and talking could end everyone's lives. Yet he was the one complaining that the newcomers were the problem. Jaiden's eye darted to and fro, gazing at everyone's facial expression. There were all alarmed. Who wouldn't be? Out of nowhere multiple bullets were fired causing the moaning to rapidly die down. "Is that the miltary?" Lee kept his voice low just in case. "I don't know,"

"Thank God for whatever it is," Glenn's voice sounded full of relief. Jaiden let out a shaky sigh, praying for all of this to be over. She never did have any luck. Larry paced the length of the back shelves, "We almost died because of this bitch and her-" he was halted mid sentence, "Don't call her a bitch, you old fuck," Jaiden snapped as she lifted herself away from the tiled floor. Hatred bubbling inside of her, her fingers curling into the palm of her hands, creating fists. She was sick of him! She'd had enough!

"You can't tell me what to do! If anything you're the bitch here. All you-" Suddenly, Larry gripped his chest, pain twisting his grumpy features. "Dad!" Lilly sprinted over to the man as he fell over. Any anger Jaiden had been feeling morphed into concern. "What's the matter?" Jaiden questioned softly, her tone caused everyone to gaze at her oddly.

"It's his heart," Lilly glared at the teen, making Jaiden feel as if it were her fault. She supposed it was, if she hadn't have made him so worked up, maybe he wouldn't be on the floor suffering. "My pills…" Larry muttered, finding it hard to utter a word at all. "Uh-um, Nitroglycerin pills?" Jaiden turned her attention towards the woman with a Belgian accent, it was the first time she had heard the woman talk. Her voice came off as the sweet motherly type.

"Yes! We're out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here. Please, try to get in there. Behind the counter were the pills are." Lilly pleaded desperately. Melancholy washed over Jaiden, Larry was the only thing Lilly had left to love in this new cruel world. "There's proberly another entrance. Maybe through the office," Lee suggested. Jaiden mentally whacked herself, maybe she should've checked the office more thoroughly after they had dragged the Everetts outside. Though Lee knew the store brick by brick. "How'd you know that's an office?" Carley narrowed her eyes, whilst positioning a hand on her hip. "Educated guess," Lee shrugged.

"It doesn't matter," For whatever reason, Jaiden could sense the two woman wouldn't get along in future. "We need nitroglycerin pills. Please get in there, I'll keep an eye on my dad," Lilly told them, although her utterance was more directed towards Lee. "Everyone else should get comfy and look her anything useful. We could be in here a while," The man with an awesome accent piped up. As she observed everyone, mainly the front of the store, Glenn ambled into her line of vision.

"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution," She bobbed her head in agreement. Somehow, they'd have to find a safer place to reside. A safe place were it was quiet and monsters could be heard from miles away. "You're right, this ain't exactly Ft. Knox," The man stated. "What do you suggest?" Lee queried.

"We need as much gas as possible so we can all get out of downtown Macon. Fast." Glenn suggested. "Agreed," Lee commented. As she listened to the conversation, Jaiden stuffed her hands in her jean pockets. "Then I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not far from here, out towards the end of Peach Tree. I'll work my towards it and then loop back, siphoning what I can," he explained, determination written across his features.

"I'll come with you. Y'know just in case and I'd rather do something useful then stand around," Jaiden piped up causing the three men to glance at her. "Are you sure?" Jaiden nodded, stretching her posture so she stood straight. "Positive," Jaiden said with the tiniest smile graced her lips. "You two are insane!" Lee's eyebrows were raised, clearly supporting his utterance.

In all honesty, she was surprised that she hadn't gone mad already. There were all in the middle of a damn zombie Apocolypse! End of the world situation was only meant for books, movies, video games and television shows, not real life! She didn't see the point in surviving if she was going to die soon. Death always beat life, so what was the point? Right now, it wasn't about her, in fact it should never be about her, its about helping those in need. "Well its gotta get done. Plus I'm quick and if she has her bat, we'll be fine. I know Macon." Glenn's voice brought her back to reality. "Local?"

"Born and raised," Lee then turned his gaze to the teen, who was know wiring her hands together, "What about you? You think you can do it?" Her facial expression morphed into one of purpose and bravery, but her face deceived her emotions.

Throughout her she wore a façade, never displaying her true feelings. She only ever removed her mask for those she truly trusted and were dear to her heart. He wasn't here, so she'd have to keep it glued to her face for now. "Like he said, if I've got my bat and my head in the game, we'll be fine," Jaiden shuffled past Lee and the mustache guy to reach her baseball bat. As she held it some of the monster blood and muck stained her fingers. She stuck her tongue out in disgust, making a 'yuck' sound in the process.

Hastily, she wiped it off on her jeans. Jaiden raised her head to see the mustache guy and Lee gazing at her in a disbelieving manner, as if they thought she wouldn't be able to whilst Glenn smirked to the side. Rolling her blue eyes, she rests the bat on her shoulder and shrugging the other. "Teenagers," Mustache guy mumbled under his breath, even though she heard him loud and clear. "If you two are going to do that, here's a walkie-talkie if you get into a tight spot and the bat can't help either. Hopefully you won't need it," Lee unhooked said walkie-talkie from his jeans to pass it to Glenn. "Cool,"

"Clementine's got the other one. Check in with her and get back here as soon as you guys can," Lee glanced meaningfully at the two. "Yes sir," She raised two fingers to her forehead before releasing them in a mock salute fashion. As mustache man threw out orders, Jaiden followed Glenn towards the office where the back entrance is, her baseball bat now swinging at her side. Unexpectedly, a hand tugged on her checkered plaid shirt. She froze in her path to twist her body to face Clementine. "Where are you going?" Her eyebrows are raised questionably. _She's so damn cute._

**You say that now but she's gonna die, just like Jimmy.**

_Shut the fuck up, you don't know anything!_

**Yeah, okay, how is a seven year old looking girl meant to survive this if a sixteen year old teenager can't even control her emtions?**

_Doing that is just gonna make it even worse for her, you little fucker_

**I'm meant to mess with her mind, I am madness after all.**

Gulping as the voices conversed within her mind, Jaiden couldn't help but realise that Maddie was right, Clementine could become a monster at any moment but she knew that Lee wouldn't let that happen. Although she'd only known this girl for a few minutes, Clementine and the boy she had saved earlier, Duck she recalled, where the only things worth protecting in this Hell on Earth. Sure there were others that needed aid but children were vulnerable and always came first, well in opinion.

"Me and Glenn are gonna go get some gas for mustache guy's truck and Glenn's car," Clementine giggled over something she uttered, making Jaiden's eyebrows knit together in a perplexed manner. "His name's isn't 'mustache guy', it's Kenny," Clementine covered her mouth to conatin her giggles. "Oh. Woops," She messed with frame of her glass, awkwardly. "Anyways, I should be heading off," She shuffled backwards, past Lilly and her weak father. Along the way she tripped over her own to feet, causing Clementine to snigger a little louder.

Everyone in the drugstore narrowed their eyes at the two. Clearing her throat, Jaiden picked up her pace to join the patiently waiting Glenn in the office. "You ready now?" She nodded her head once, "Ready as I'll ever be,"

Promptly, they made there way out into back alleyway as quiet as a mouse for they didn't want any monsters to attack them. Her breathing became laboured as she observed how many monsters there were. Glenn noticed her distress and placed a finger to his lips. "_It's gonna be okay," _he mouthed. Briefly, she squeezed her eyes shut and imagined those that made her strong were with her now. Eventually, she calmed down. Glenn had hidden the car not far from the drugstore, only a block away, just in case any monsters were around a more populated area of Macon. "_On my count," _

_"One," _Slow steady breaths

"_Two,"_ Tight grasp on her bat

"_Three," _Glass fixed correctly

"_Go," _Sprinting for their lives


	6. Escape The Worst

**A/N: Hey guys! Wow, 5 reviews for one chapter! Thanks so much! This one is extra long because I'm not sure if i'll be able to update before I go on holidays, so here it is. Anyways here it is leave a review cause I know you guys are out there, I have over 600 views yet only 16 of you are reviewing. But thanks for even giving this story a glance. Also I want to give a shout out to my friend (He will know who he is) for supporting me through out. REVIEW AND ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter Five

'Escape The Worst'

The chilly July night wind raked through her short ashen blonde tresses, entangling it even more. She enjoyed the peace as much as she could by closing her eyes, the softest of smiles painted on her face. In her head she imagined herself in a beautiful golden field, chasing after Jimmy and Amy whilst Scarlett, Alan and the Pauls watched on, a look of amusement on their faces. All things must come to an end as Glenn repeated her name more than once.

"Yeah?" She opened her eyes and moved her head to the right in order to face him.

"Can you shut the window, it's kinda cold," Glenn jiggled his shoulders to signify how cold he was. Jaiden did as commanded by lifting the button to roll the window up. The car was no longer filled with the howling that was the wind; instead it was filled with silence. A silence that was slightly awkward. She rested her elbow on the frame of the car window and just started at the never ending darkness rushing past them. Next to her, Glenn cleared his throat, obviously not loving the silence.

"So…" He started anxiously. Out of the blue, Jaiden began to chuckle, "What's funny?" Glenn wondered, flicking his eyes towards the teen, confused. "Nothing, it's just that my best friend does that to start off conversations. He's so awkward but it's funny," Her close-lipped smile remains on her lips as she lowers her eye towards her lap, where her grubby hands lay.

"Your best friends with a boy?" her eyebrows furrow together, slightly offended as well as baffled by his question. "What do you mean by that?" Defensively, Jaiden overlapped her arms. Glenn noticed the attitude in her tone as she asked the question and sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, is it…never mind. I'll properly offend you even more," He halted any form of a conversation, so they just lapsed into muteness once again. In the meantime, Jaiden just let the voices over take her mind, for they were eager to converse with one another.

Sometimes, she had a metal box that was locked tight whenever she was able to trap them in there. They only ever escaped if she let them (which was rare) or they joined forces to conquer their hell, that was the metal box. So, she had to mould another one, which took her a long time. During the construction of the metal box, the voices pranced around everywhere, distracting her for everyday tasks. A little while ago, before she had moved in with Nate and Scarlett, she was cooking dinner and the voices just kept whining and whining about how miserable their lives were, stuck inside a puny little girls head. She didn't know how long they'd been talking but she had nearly burnt the house down. Other times they just made her livid, so livid that she had thrown her table desk and stormed out of class.

**Do you think she'll ever stop whining?**

_No what do you expect, she's a teenage girl, that's what their there for._

**_You two do realise that she's listening in… right?_**

**Oh fuck**

_Let's just annoy the fuck out of her_

**_That's only going to make the situation worse, plus, she's let us be free, don't you think we should be kind._**

**Kind my ass, she's never kind, are ya sweetheart?**

_Sometimes I think she's only kind because she forces herself to be._

**_I'm gonna leave before this get outta hand_**

**You just a little pussy**

_Do you just put it on for Benjamin?_

**Do you hear how she talks to her siblings sometimes?**

_Yeah she treats them like shit_

**They've done so much for her and she doesn't even fucking appreciate it.**

_But you just let Scarlett die because you're a scared little baby_

**Boohoo**

_Wah_

By now Glenn was shaking her away from the voices as well as repeating her name in a hushed fashion. "Jay…" Her eyes snapped open and they became wide, making her look like a psycho. Her stubby nails had penetrated the rough skin of her palm and drew blood. Sweat covered her forehead and her mouth was agape for releasing short puffs of air.

"What's the problem?" Glenn's tone was littered in worry but Jaiden shook her head. Glancing outside, she realised that they had arrived at the motel. It was called the 'Travlier Motel' and had a forest opposite. Two cars and a RV were the only automobiles in the car park, meaning that others had escaped. The power was still on, signalling the government had everything under control (she hoped so). Overall, it seemed to be a decent place to hide out.

Rather than answering Glenn's question, Jaiden climbed out of the car as well as grabbing her baseball bat, despite the pain in her palm, from the back seats. Behind her, she heard Glenn sighed in an exasperated manner. She couldn't tell him about the voices, sure he was a good man who seemed very trustworthy but she hardly ever let people in. "I'll start tapping the cars," Glenn stated heading over to the RV first. "Okay, I'll go look around, see if it's safe," Twirling the bat in a circle motion, Jaiden ambled her way over to room five, which was opposite the RV.

Holding her breath, she pressed her right ear on the door to hear if there were any monsters in there or not. After a few seconds, she heard no moaning either human or inhuman, so she deemed it safe. Briefly, she glanced back at Glenn before entering the room. The only source of light was coming from outside and it illuminated the bed. Squinting, she noted something was placed in the centre of the bed; however her shitty eyesight refrained her from making out what the object was. With one hand, she patted alongside the wall in order to find the switch. When she did so, she found that the switch was smeared with a sticky substance. Biting her lip, she flicked the switch up, only to be met with a gruesome discovery which caused her stomach to churn.

In the middle of the bed was a severed head. Clearly, it had been ripped off by a monster, blood still poured freely out the base and it soaked through the sheets into the mattress. The head belonged to woman, she guessed as her face had been chewed or scratched. An eyeball had been ripped out of the socket and it lay tangled in the woman's ginger hair. The only remaining eye somewhat glared at her, as if hating Jaiden for still living and breathing, it was grim. Worse, several flies were swarming the head, sucking up the blood like a vampire. She clamped a hand over her mouth to contain her gagging, this was fucked up. The thought of the woman's body popped into her mind but all Jaiden wanted to do was run out screaming. She knew she couldn't do the latter option, instead she chose the former.

Turning away from the head, she strolled around the enclosed room. Any colour from earlier had drowned from her face and was replaced with a pale white. A path of coppery blood travelled to the bathroom. Jaiden knew she was going to regret what she discovered in the bathroom, yet she never ceased her investigation. She was a stupid child, she'd always been curious and they did say that curiosity killed the cat.

In this moment, she was the cat. Cautiously, she rested the palm of her hand on the door knob, and then curled her fingers around the brass. She rotated her wrist which caused the door knob to follow her movements. Taking a deep breath she pushed the door for it to open, only to find that something was blocking her from entering. In her gut she knew that the remains of the woman's body lay behind the door. The thought of it made bile rise to her throat again and this time she didn't stop it. Instead, she promptly threw up. She must have created a lot of noise as Glenn came rushing into the room.

"Jay! What is it? Are you hurt? Are you…" He trailed off and Jaiden knew it was because of the head. "Oh my God," Using the sleeve of her green plaid shirt, she wiped off any remaining puke. Luckily, none of it tangled in her hair.

"Yeah, it's fucking gross," She relocated herself to Glenn's side, whose expression was mixed, repulsion and concern. Pursing her lips, she shrugged sluggishly, shaking her head as well. "I don't know, Glenn. It just goes to show that these monsters aren't the type to fuck with," He nodded numbly over her statement though he still stared, eyes wide at the head. Gently, she hooked her free hand on his brown jacket and tugged him towards the doorway.

"I've only got the truck to do, and then we can get out of here," Glenn explained, clearly wanting to forget what he had seen only moments ago.

Jaiden nodded in agreement, though for her the image of the woman's head glaring at her remained plastered in her mind. Some of the voices (that she had yet to lock away) were complaining about the head, though she willed herself to stay in control and not let them take over. She followed Glenn's form as he ambled to the truck in the furthest side of the motel. She changed the direction of her eye line to gaze at the rooms on the upper floor. Seeing as that looked harmless, Jaiden made her way over to the staircase, her bat clutched in her hand. She couldn't remain focused, the image of the head stayed permanently cemented in her mind. It was like a sticky price tag label that wouldn't rip off on the first try; instead you would have to keep peeling off endless stickers until you gave up and left it alone.

How on Earth was the head even placed perfectly on the middle of the bed? A monster wouldn't particular decided to locate it there. Nonetheless, Jaiden washed the gruesome thoughts away from she had reached the top floor. From this height she could see the night sky in more detail. Not as many stars were twinkling tonight for either the clouds had concealed them or they didn't feel strong enough to shine. Though the waxing crescent shone in cheerfulness, even if it happened to a small source a cheer, anything cheerful made Jaiden beam. As she paced the length of the balcony, she heard a soft noise coming inside one of the rooms. The noise certainly didn't belong to a monster. If her ears deceived her, it sounded like… crying. Just to be sure, Jaiden found herself drawing closer to room nine. Before she had the chance to listen in, Glenn's voice called again.

"Jay, what are you doing up here? I've loaded the car and we should be able to go," He informed her.

"Come over here," She commanded in a hushed tone. When Glenn just narrowed his eyes at her rather than listening to her, she sighed but ushered him over with the wave of her hand. Her face was serious as well as worried, so Glenn complied. Glenn must have heard the crying as his facial expression morphed into one of disbelief, his mouth slightly agape.

"Holy shit! Do you think…" Jaiden nodded her head, answering his question and she held the bat close to her chest. Gradually, Glenn edged towards the door of room nine and pressed his hands on the frame.

"Hello? Is anyone in there, my name is Glenn Rhee and I'm here with my friend Jay. We're not here to hurt you, we—" he was cut short when a feminine voice started to overrule him.

"GO AWAY!" She shrieked, causing the two of them to wince. "Listen ma'am, we're just trying to help," Jaiden piped up.

"Well I don't need your help, SO JUST LEAVE!" She yelled again. Glenn halted the conversation to glance at Jaiden, "I think I left the walkie-talkie in the car. Can you get that whilst I talk to her, please?" Glenn whispered so the woman couldn't her them. "Sure. Have my bat, just in case," She released the bat from her embrace and passed it to Glenn, who gave a close lipped smile as she gave it to him.

All of a sudden she felt naked without it. Right now that wasn't important. Shrugging, she briskly paced towards the staircase, the woman still screaming from behind the stairs. She hopped down the stairs, thinking why the woman didn't want their help? Maybe the woman thought that hiding away was safer than travelling out to Hell. Jaiden couldn't blame her, all she wanted to do was bury herself away and just forget about the world in favour of her imagination but she had things to do, the time for that would have to wait. In fact, it may not come at all because she can't afford to be self-centred.

"WHAT PART OF GO AWAY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" The woman bellowed, Jaiden knew that the situation was becoming worse so she quickened her pace. Finally she reached the car on the other side of the parking lot and latched her hand in order to open the door, only to find it locked. She sighed in frustration, why on Earth would he lock the car? However, her ears picked up another noise from afar. The worst part was it sounded like a…

Monster.

"Shit!" She cursed. Both of her hands came to squish her face in thought. What are they going to do? It's not like they can leave the girl here! "Glenn!" She called his name loud enough for him to hear and not the monsters. He must her heard panic in her voice for he too looked panicked as he leaned over the railing.

"Monsters are coming and your fucking car is locked. So do you mind getting your ass down here?" Without answering Glenn sprinted away from room nine whilst Jaiden narrowed her eyes as she noticed seven figures in the darkness of the forest. How in hell were they meant to fight seven monsters off? "What's the problem?" His tone was laced in alarm. "For one, monsters are coming out of the forest and two can you open the damn car!" She explained, irritably. She didn't mean to sound like a bitch but when she was stressed she was pissed. Hurriedly, Glenn unlocked the car and she swung the door open to collect the walkie-talkie. "We can't leave the girl here, Jay!" Glenn exclaimed, freaking out, which only succeeded in Jaiden freaking out as well. The moans from the monsters intensified. "Shit!" Glenn cussed. Hastily, Jaiden grabbed the walkie-talkie before closing the door.

"Hide!" Jaiden suggested as she peered over at the forest. The first monsters had emerged from the forest and it looked hungry, its arms outstretched in order to collect its meal greedily. "The ice box!" Glenn sprinted towards it, Jaiden following closely behind, her heart racing at a million miles per hour. When they reached the ice box, Glenn opened it up only to find it wasn't big enough for two. A plan formulate in her head quickly, seeing as Glenn had the baseball bat in his hand, she snatched it off him before pushing him inside the ice box.

"What the hell, Jay! They're coming! You're meant to be in here, not me!" Glenn's expression was pissed. "Sorry," Rather than letting him retort; she closed the doors and wedged the bat between the handles, so that the monsters couldn't open the box.

She would prefer Glenn to be safe for she felt that she owed him her life for saving her at the beginning of Hell. Spinning on her heel, all the monsters had emerged from the forest and were dragging themselves towards her. Clutching the walkie-talkie close to her chest, she dashed to the closet motel room, which was room 3 as well as locking the door behind her. She decided not to slam the door shut, as it would give away her location.

They weren't the smartest monsters in the world. Then again no monsters on television were smart, they always ended up dead. Not wanting to switch the light on, Jaiden made her away from by patting the wall with one hand as well as leaving the one holding the walkie-talkie in front of her, just in case she bumped into the dresser or the bed. Eventually, she found the bed and promptly threw herself on it; bouncing up and down for a few seconds. Adjusting her glasses, she fell into her back and closed her eyes, just listening to the groans of the monsters. Clinging to the walkie-talkie, Jaiden slowed her panicked breathing down. How where they going to get out of this situation now? She and Glenn couldn't go out there and fight them all.

Others would most likely follow the noise. She decided that it would be best to ask for help. First of all she'd have to figure out how to work the fucking thing. Jaiden opened her eyes, even though it wouldn't help at all. The room was completely pitch-black but the light peeked out from under the door. She fiddled with various buttons in order to get it working. The radio crackled static, causing her to jump in surprise. "Um… Clementine? It's Jay, are you there?" She clicked the radio off and waited for a response.

"_Yeah, I'm here." _Jaiden let out a breath that she didn't realise she was holding. "Could you put Lee on the, er, walkie-talkie? Please?" She requested, closing her eyes again. "It's Lee. What's the problem, kid?" Internally she growled when he called her that but chose not to say anything. "Well, er, me and Glenn kinda got ambushed by some monsters at the motel. I guess we got too noisy," she gave an awkward chuckle before continuing. "So I was wondering if you help us. There are too many of them and… I don't have my bat…" She cleared her throat uncomfortably; she never was too good when talking to strangers one on one.

_"We'll come and get you as soon as we can. Just sit tight,"_ Lee attempted to calm her down and it worked. "Okay. Thank you Lee. Oh, one more thing!" She whispered swiftly. _"Yeah Jay?" _His tone was not impatient at all, rather… sympathetic in a way. "Glenn's in the ice box outside with the bat over the handles so the monsters couldn't get him and I'm in room three. But make sure you get him out first please," She informed him for future reference.

_"Alright, we won't be too long. Just stay in the room until we come and get you. You'll be fine," _The static tuned off leaving Jaiden in dead silence, apart from the monsters moans and her steady breathing.

Instead of moving she curled her body into a ball on surprisingly comfortable bed, the walkie-talkie laying discarded next to her. She burrowed her nose in between her knees. Her hair fell from behind her ear and covered her face; acting as a shield. The position was extremely comfortable, making her want to sleep. Jaiden didn't realise how tired she really was, who knows how long she'd been awake for now. A little over twenty-four hours, she supposed. The adrenaline that had pumped through her veins to keep her going was slowly wearing away. Her stomach growled; Jaiden regretted throwing away the burnt toast. Licking her lips, she imagined a big home cooked meal. Normally she wasn't the type to eat large healthy quantities of food for she would stuff her face with crap. Her stomach only growled louder, causing her to shake the thoughts of food away. How did she make it this far? She couldn't protect herself in the slightest. Glenn had saved her for a monster as had Lee.

What was she going to do when they weren't there? In fact, she'd have to learn how to fight and kill a monster but knowing that they used to be human makes her unbelievably depressed. Jaiden felt tears burn hotly under her eye lids. Tears for those who had been torn apart by the monsters. Tears for the children who couldn't do anything. Tears for those shuffling around as monsters. Tears for those who died protecting the ones they loved. Tears for those she had lost.

Scarlett

Jimmy

Ben

Alan

Nate.

Jaiden hated his guts more than Felicity, Chris, Faye, Kyle and Lucy combined but she forgave him for what he had done. Mulling over her encounters (excluding the creepy watching) he was only even kind to her. She just didn't want to realise it. The first teardrop leaked out of the corner of her closed eye, followed shortly by another. She stretched out her legs, feeling cramps in them. Lifting her glasses up with her left hand, she brought her right hand close to her eyes to halt any more tears from falling. Jaiden was sick and tired of crying, it only give her headache. Speaking of headaches…

**For fucks sake girl, stop crying!**

_Jesus motherfucking Christ you big baby, how hold are you now?_

**_Your sixteen, it's time to get over yourself_**

**I don't ever think we'll crack this one**

_Yet we know everything she has even done or thought about, there is no logic in that you little shit_

**_Here comes the argument…_**

**I was doing that to piss her off dick head**

_Do you really wanna go there motherfucker?_

**_We're meant to say mean thing about her, not have a go with each other. I don't know why I try… To think Jay-Jay, I'm the only one that treats you right_**

**Treat you right my ass**

_You're the most annoying fucker I know_

Jaiden rolled her eyes over the squabbling going on between the voices, thought she supposed it was a good thing that they were fighting with each other rather than screaming at her.

**Oh don't worry sweetheart, we have plans for you later…**

She smacked the side of her head to shut the voice up for a while. With slow movements, Jaiden removed herself from the bed to see what the situation was like outside. Her thoughts had consumed her to the point that she had forgotten the world, even if it was one that was hard to remember. Inaudibly, she pressed her fingers on the motel door and leaned in, shutting one eye in the process. As far as she could see, there was one monster scoffing at a carcass. Her eyebrows furrowed closer together, she didn't remember seeing that there.

Shrugging, she thought none of it. However, three figures in the distance caught her eye. They were hiding behind the white pickup truck beneath the balcony. Hope and joy flowed through her body; it was Lee, Carley and Glenn. Should she wait for them or risk sneaking past the monster too busy stuffing its moulted face? She removed herself from the door and slid to the floor. Her hands drew out in front of her, the palms facing upwards. The only way to make decisions fair was eeny-meeny-miny-moe.

"Here goes nothing…" She mumbled. Left hand was to stay indoors. Right hand was to go outside.

_Eeny_- left hand down. _Meeny- _Right hand down, left hand up.

_Miny, moe,_

_Catch a tiger by the toe._

_If he hollers, let him go,_

_Eeny, meeny…_

_Miny- _left hand down.

_Moe- _right hand down.

"Shit!" She cursed. She couldn't take it back now, what's fair is fair. Temporarily, she closed her eyes. This was her most stupid decision yet. Adjusting her glasses, she hefted herself up from the floor and took a deep breath whilst clasping her hand on the door knob. But, she quickly rushed over to the bed to collect the walkie-talkie. "Okay Jay, now you're ready," Without a second thought, she silently swung the door open. The monster made no motion that it had heard her leaving the room. Not bothering to close the door, she crept over to the small wall at the front of motel, holding the walkie-talkie close to her chest.

Only to be tackled to the ground; knocking her glasses off in the process and the walkie-talkie lay discarded next to her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, fearing that one of the monsters had jumped her and was about to rip her flesh off. She chose not to scream for that wouldn't help the others at all. "Jay?" A familiar deep voice came. The same voice she conversed with on the walkie-talkie, Lee. To make sure that it was him and not her imagination, she opened one eye. Her vision was met with the blurry form of Lee hovering over her, a screwdriver (as far as she could make out) near her face. Fuzzy version of Carley and Glenn were behind him.

"What in the Hell are you doing?" Lee moved away from her and slumped on the wall. Jaiden changed her lying position into a resting on your elbows position, her hair dangling past her neck.

"I saw you three behind the truck over there," She motioned towards the truck, even though she knew her head was facing a completely different direction. "And I figured I should do more than sit on my ass and here we are," She explained, starching the back of her head in embarrassment, feeling stupid.

"What part of stay in your room don't you understand?" Lee scolded. Her expression transformed into an apologetic one, her eyebrows uplifting and her lips pulling down, stressing her neck muscles and bearing her teeth. "Sorry, Lee," Turning on her right side, she patted the ground is search of the glasses.

"Er… Jay… What are you doing?" Glenn wondered, concerned about the teens behaviour. "I'm blind without my glasses," She stated, clearly thinking that would explain everything. She resumed her pursuit for the spectacles whilst socialising with the other three. "So what did I miss?" Her fingernails chipped as dragged them along the grimy concrete.

"Prince Glenn here wants to save his princess in the tower," Carley started soundlessly, obviously not liking Glenn's idea, which caused Jaiden's forehead to crease, detailing several stress lines. Why didn't Carley want to save the woman in room nine? Finally, her fingertips felt the smooth black plastic that always sat atop of her nose. Lifting them up, she situated them on her freckled nose.

"Anyway, we've taken out two of them and me and Lee were about to take out the other two by the RV until you showed up," Switching her lying position to a sitting position she smiled self-consciously. "Sorry, I just wanted to do something useful for a change rather than sit on my ass like a damsel in distress," Lee sighed, he could tell that she meant well, "Alright kid, I've seen you with your bat, you've got a mean swing. That's plenty useful. Follow my lead to the RV to take those two out. Got it?" he explained to which she bobbed her head up and down in understanding.

"Here," Glenn murmured to gather her attention, in his hands he held her bloodied wooden baseball bat.

Her face lit up as he passed it over to her and she grabbed it without hesitation. As long as she had her baseball bat, she would always feel secure. "Thanks and I'm, uh, sorry for pushing you in the ice box like that," She apologized. Glenn shook his head, "Don't worry about it," Her lip quirked up, she felt privileged to know Glenn Rhee, he was amazing.

"Okay, you ready Jay?" Lee questioned over his shoulder, his hands were latched onto the petite brick wall, keeping a close eye on the monster munching ahead of them. "As I'll ever be," With that the two drew away from their hiding spot and crept silently yet speedily to the front of the RV, passing the oblivious monster along the way. "That wasn't so bad," She mumbled loud enough for Lee to hear. "Saying that might jinx it,"

**Way to go dumbass**

_People who say that in movies end up dead next_

You wanna shut up?

The voices ceased any further conversation and she let out a pleased sigh. Finally, they listened to her for once.

"Get ready, I've got the one gawking, you've got the one chomping," Lee ordered. She increased the tightness of her grip on her bat, her knuckles losing any blood in them. A high pitch whistle broadcasted around them.

Jaiden kept an eye on her monster as it lifted its head away from the corpse and over to the source of the whistle. It struggled to heft itself to a standing position, (not that she could give a damn) though when it did, it shuffled towards her, having seen Jaiden perfectly clear. With every difficult step it took, she raised her bat higher and higher, starting to prepare for smashing its head in. Her nostrils flared, not from aggression rather from her heavy breathing. Her jaw clench together tightly, feeling as if that would make her feel more powerful. When it was close enough, she brought the bat straight down to the target, causing monster much to splatter all over her clothes and her face.

The monster crashed to the ground and did not stand up again for her swing had left a dent in its stupid head. However, it still moaned, meaning that it was still alive. Jaiden noticed that the head seemed mushy and easy to step on. She lifted her foot and rested it on the monster's head; gently at first. Bolting her eyes shut, she applied pressure and squished its head, producing a squelching sound. The sound making her stomach churn again.

"Let's go," Lee proposed. Wiping the muck off her face, Jaiden followed Lee's lead towards the monster pinned to the wall as the car had trapped it there. Next to it was an axe, which could be very useful for killing monsters. Jaiden smeared the muck on her hand over her jeans, not wanting to feel its sliminess any longer. From observing the monster, she noticed that it was missing a hand and its arms were outstretched in a starving manner, waiting for its next meal to grab. But before it could, Lee plunged the screwdriver into its forehead, killing it instantly. Her nose crinkled in disgust as its head slammed onto the hood of the car and the end of the screwdriver popped out of the back of its head. Anyway of killing a monster was gruesome and revolting.

"Dude, where'd your weapon go?" Glenn wondered as he came to stand next to Lee. "Into that ice-pick sized hole," Lee's comment caused Glenn to laugh, "Holy shit!" Jaiden sighed but her lip quirked upwards nevertheless, men will be men. Beside her Carley started to become irritated over the two. "It's cool, now we've got this," Glenn pointed at the red axe behind Lee.

"Are you two done?" Carley's tone was one of exasperation. "Men will be men, Carley," Jaiden remarked. "Don't I know it," Lee seized the axe and glanced up at the two monsters above. "Two more," Lee stated the obvious, "Now we have the axe, it'll be much easier," she commented, to which Lee gripped the axe a little tighter. The four of them snuck over to the base of the stairs, prepared to do anything. "Why don't you guys lag behind; just in case this goes to hell," Lee recommended, Jaiden bobbed her head in agreement, Lee was perfectly capable of defeating the monsters; now that he had the axe, he could do pretty much anything. "Okay, we'll be right behind you," Jaiden kept an eye on Lee's form as he crawled up the stairs and onto the balcony.

Once he had ambled far enough, Glenn led the way over to Lee, the three of the still crouching. As she reached the top of the stairs, she extended her legs to stand straight again. She shook them out as the crouching position was incredibly uncomfortable and her thighs slightly burned. Any form of physical exercise was her greatest weakness.

Whenever she had Gym at school she would take forever to change into her sports gear or the majority of the tome hide in the toilets until her teacher, Mrs Garrison, found her and dragged her back into class. All of the girls tended to beat her relentlessly, the other howling with laughter in the background. They told her she could go kill herself and that no one wanted her here. They told her how she wasn't special and she was just a blind saddo with mental problems. To be honest, she already knew that about herself, she didn't need to be told twice. Mrs Garrison didn't even care why would she? She's not paid to sort out bitches. At the end of the day, she strolled home with Ben. After a while, he had stopped asking where she received the bruises for he already knew. Sometimes he would gently touch the bruises or cut with his eyebrows upturned sympathetically. Other times he would just hold her close and that was all she would ever need. Ben Paul was her hero. Shaking her head, she brought herself back to reality. None of that matter now, she had more important things to worry about rather than herself and the bitches. Bitches who are most likely rotting and munching at anything they can find.

Lee placed the axe onto the ground gently before leaning in and banging his fist against the mucky door. His actions caused Jaiden to grimace; she knew that this would only frighten the woman more as the two monsters were slamming against the door earlier. "Hello in there? We're trying to help," Lee informed calmly. "Please, just go away!" The woman's voice trembled, melancholy filled Jaiden as she heard the frightened tone the woman had in her voice. She didn't know what kind of situation the woman was in, but she had a feeling that it wasn't fantastic.

"Let's go guys,"

"But we can't just leave her like this. We've gotta try," Jaiden waved her free arm towards the door pathetically. Lee nodded, clearing agreeing with Jaiden. "If you open up, you can take you somewhere safer. We've got a group in town-" Lee was about to added more when her cries resounded again. "No, no, no! Please…" Though her voice was overlapped by Jaiden's and Glenn's both speaking at once.

"She's in trouble!"

"There must be something wrong…" Jaiden dropped her bat on the floor, her palm beginning to sting from the nail scars from earlier.

"Miss! We're coming in!" Jaiden watched on as Lee grabbed the axe and brought it above his head. With a battle cry, he swung it back down, chopping the wooden plank (that was previously halting anyone from entering or exiting the room) in two. Quickly, Jaiden glanced at the forest just in case any noise they were creating happened to attract monsters. Scanning the forest, she didn't note any sign that the monsters were coming, so she returned to the situation. Lee began to kick open the door but the woman ceased any further movement. "Stop, just stop," She pleaded.

"I'm coming out," she sounded somewhat defeated, which caused Jaiden to feel even more sympathy for the woman.

Who knows what she's been through? Lee shuffled backwards, coming to stand next to Glenn in order to give the woman some space. Slowly, the door creaked open revealing a deathly pale woman in her early twenties clutching her side in agony, her eyes puffy and sore from her sobbing. Jaiden immediately blanched, a portion of the woman's side had been ripped away leaving blood splattered across her clothes, she closed her eyes, it seemed hope wouldn't get you very far in the Apocalypse.

"You're hurt," Lee alleged, tears welled in Jaiden's eyes. This is all fucked up. "I-I said stay away," The woman hiccupped. "We need to get you help," Glenn proposed. The woman bowed her head whilst shaking it, removing her limp arm to her side. "There must be something we can do! A-Anything!" Jaiden begged desperately, she wanted to save people for fucks sakes, not let them die! "It's too late," She sobbed,

"Guys, she's been bitten," Whilst Jaiden wasn't so shocked, Glenn and Lee were. "What?"

"I told you! I said go away, I'm bit!" But you two wouldn't just leave," she exclaimed in a panicked tone whilst her life drained eyes flickered between Glenn and Jaiden, almost in an infuriated manner too. "Let's calm down, you could be fine," Lee soothed but the affect it had on the woman was making her freak out even more. Jaiden just observed the conversation, not wanting to interfere until absolutely nessercary; this would be a difficult situation to handle.

"I won't be fine. My boyfriend was bitten. You get sick and you die and you come back and you kill anything you can find!" The woman explained with wide eyes. Not in a psychotic way, rather in a fearful manner. Who could blame her? Jaiden thought that it must be horrible knowing that you had been infected and you could turn into an eating machine within seconds. "You have a boyfriend?" Glenn blurted out, sounding disappointed.

She rolled her eyes at Glenn, typical male. Males think that when rescuing a girl, she immediately falls into their arms and showering them in kisses, professing her love for him to the world through song. This world was no fairy-tale, it was Hell. He also reminded her of Travis, always sauntering around flirting with all the girls. If it wasn't for Evie keeping his head in the game, Travis would be God knows where. For good measure, she elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to cringe and starch the back of his head awkwardly.

"I don't want that. It's not Christian! Please, just leave me, please just go," She implored frantically, her eyes still wide. "Ma'am, er, miss?" Jaiden piped up, gathering the woman's attention. "What's your name?" It was a question that had been on mind since she had found her earlier. The other three glanced at her oddly, not knowing what she was doing. The woman relaxed ever so slightly, "I-Irene," A small reassuring grin grew on her face, all she wanted to do was be as clean as possible.

"Irene, why don't we clean your wound up, maybe it's not as bad and you'll be okay," Jaiden suggested only for the woman to shake her head. "I understand what you're doing but it's not going to work. I'm dying and no one can stop that," The grin on her face faded away and her shoulders slumped. She tried, believing that maybe she could do something but all she ever seemed to do was make it worse.

"You gave a gun," Irene commented, a glint of… hope flashed in her dying eyes briefly, a glint of hope that Jaiden didn't find all too pleasing.

"So?" Carley glanced at her gun, trying to find the significance to it.

"Can I… borrow it?" Then it dawned on Jaiden, her eyes widened and she gulped… no. "What do you mean by borrow?" Carley wondered instead of answering Irene's question. "Give it to me… I can just, y'know, end this and then-then there's no problem." She wanted them to let her kill herself, just the thought of suicide made Jaiden upset. It was so horrible and sensitive. "This is your life we are talking about!" Jaiden worried, tears pricking in her eyes again, there must be another way!

"What life?! I'm dying! PLEASE. I don't want to be one of them. They're… they're satanic," Absentmindedly, Jaiden fiddled with her father's ring, _Please let Irene be alright, Daddy, _she silently prayed. Jaiden wasn't the most religious person but she hoped that her father was in a better place and was watching over her, keeping her safe when no one else could.

"We can't let you do that to yourself," Lee decided for them all, they all knew that it was a difficult choice to make and it seemed Lee took the call. "Then do it for me!" Irene was clearly getting twitchy now, so Jaiden kept a close eye on her. "We need to get going," Carley's tone was impatient, causing Jaiden to narrow her eyes. Nonetheless, Jaiden lent down to pick her bat, wanting to feel protected. "Give to me PLEASE!" She yelled her eyes bulging as wide as they could go.

"This is crazy!" Glenn spoke what was on everyone's mind. "Please just step back, Irene," Carley warned. Without realising what she was doing, Jaiden's petite body moved to shield Carley, the grip on her bat tightening. She didn't want her new friend to get hurt and thinking she could keep her safe from harm. Irene advanced, her arms outstretching with every step, her eye narrowing when she noted Jaiden's actions. "It's just two seconds, just one bullet, and I can be with my family, and it'll all be fine," the two shuffled backwards, wanting to stay away from Irene as she came almost inches away.

"Irene, think about this," Jaiden cautioned, starting to freak out a little as well. The situation was becoming overwhelming. Irene's eyes turned to slits and without warning she lunged at the two with a cry of "PLEASE!" For a weak dying woman, she certainly had some muscles. Irene grabbed Jaiden by the shoulders and threw her back, Carley dodging the attack and the baseball falling from her hands Jaiden's back slammed painfully into the wooden fences to which she grasped.

The support beams groaned from the pressure as the five of them struggled over the gun. They were grunts and cries as they all tried to stop Irene. However, the balcony wasn't strong enough to support them and the support beams snapped. Jaiden gasped in fright and screwed her eye shut. She landed on the concrete with a sickening thud, her hands covering her face, desperately wanting to keep her glasses attached to her nose, rather than have them fall off again. Her ankle twisted painfully as it became stuck under the wood. The large scar from Nate's attack a few days ago split open again, causing blood to be mixed with filth in her hair.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" She cursed as she touched the wound gently. Ignoring her foot for a second, she glanced around trying to register what was going on. "Whoa! Take it easy, we just wanna help!" Jaiden's eyes widened as Irene brought the gun to her right temple. "You can't,"

"Irene! Take it easy, think about this. It doesn't have to be this way! We can help you, just please don't this to yourself!" Jaiden beseeched, though was having an internal meltdown. Then everything switched into slow motion. Irene pressed the nozzle as close to her forehead as she could, her finger began to squeeze the trigger. Jaiden reached out for her, the wood making it hard to move. Lee sprinted to Irene with cries of no's. Glenn and Carley observed on with expression of terror. She pulled the trigger the bullet flying through her head, blood exploding everywhere. Jaiden flinched as well as closing her teary eyes, not wanting to see Irene's limp body fall to the cold hard ground. Rather feeling the utmost sorrow, she felt the utmost fury.

Her fingers curled in creating a fist and she slammed it down on the concrete, though she regretted it instantly as pain flared up her hand. She attempted to reach the wood pinning her to the ground, only to find it too far away. Instead, she grabbed the baseball bat by her side, "Let me help," Lee offered softly, crouching down to lift the wood away.

Groans erupted from within the forest, signalling that the monsters had followed the source of the commotion. "Here they come!" Glenn yelled. Quickly, Lee removed the wood, rather than helping her stand; he wrapped on arm around her back and tucked the other under her knee. Gasping, she swept up from the floor. Knowing that he was helping her, she didn't complain and draped an arm on the back of his neck. With amazing strength (she wasn't the lightest person) and rapid speed, Lee followed Glenn and Carley to the car. Carley left the back door open for her and Lee, Jaiden internally made note to thank her later.

Lee gently placed her in the back of the car before flying in himself. Without bothering to check on the two, he pressed down on her accelerator like no tomorrow. There was complete and utter silence between the four people who were just processing what happened. Jaiden screwed her eyes shut, forgetting about the pain in her ankle for just the moment. Slipping her glasses off of her nose, she bent down to her knees, her head bowed, in shame and melancholy.

She'd done it again. She'd failed to save another person's life. Fail was her middle name, hell she had numerous of names and the funny thing was; they were all true. Jaiden waited for the voices to appear to mock her for the fail she was but they never came. Only a faint whisper came from the back of her mind,

_We're leaving you alone for a while sweetheart, we can't put you through anymore_

She bit her lip to keep herself from sobbing, though she didn't want to feel pathetic in front of the adults. "Fuck this all," She mumbled into her mucky jeans. No one made a comment. She didn't expect them too.

* * *

The four of them entered the alley door that lead to the office, all with sorrowful expression. Lee held the door open for Jaiden as she limped inside to which she muttered a quick thanks. She observed everyone, Doug was still on watch, Larry was still in pain; his daughter offering him kind words, the boy she had saved earlier and his mother were both residing by the ice cream parlour. Kenny ambled over to Lee and Clementine was twiddling with her thumbs.

Jaiden hobbled over to the little girl, "Hey Clementine," She greeted. Said girl glanced up at her, a warm innocent smile plastered on her face. "Hey Jay! Are you okay?" Jaiden's lip quirked up over the little girl's concern, "Yeah I'm fine, what about you? How are you doing?" She decided to rest on the floor for her ankle was begging to throb now. "I cut my finger when I moved the desk in the office with Lee but he fixed it for me," Clementine presented her index finger which had a small flesh coloured plaster bound around it.

"Well Lee's like a hero isn't he?" She remarked, already knowing that it was true. They were lucky Lee was around. He had done nothing but help people who had been completely nasty to him and his friends.

"He's the best one around!" Clementine giggled, making Jaiden's lips to stretch into an even bigger grin. No matter what, children always made her day. "Damn right. Listen I have something for you," Any grief Jaiden had felt was slowly washing away when she noted the expression on Clementine's face, pure glee. She unhooked the walkie-talkie from her belt loop, "Ta-da!" She sang.

"My walkie-talkie!" Clementine cried, gently, she plucked it out of Jaiden hands and held it close. "Thank you, Jay!"

"No problem, Clemmy-Clue," Jaiden's nickname for her caused Clementine to frown. "Clemmy-Clue?" She wondered, Jaiden shrugged, "I dunno, just kinda came out, y'know?" Clem shook her head, not understanding. "No, not really," Jaiden rolled her eyes playfully.

A figure blocked the light that was illuminating them, causing a shadow to cast. The figure made Clementine beam, so she assumed that it was Lee. Jaiden rotated her head to the side as well as angling it to see him better. The blood had stopped flowing out of her cut, leaving a trail of crustiness knotted in her hair. "Hey you two," Lee bent down to their level for them to see him better. Seizing the opportunity to talk to him, she spoke up, "Um, Lee?" Jaiden fiddled with her father's ring again as she felt awkward.

"Yeah?" Lee changed his eye line from Clementine to her. "Can I , er, to you about something?" She gave him a meaningful gaze, he nodded his head, knowing what she meant whilst Clementine glanced at the two, confused as to what they were talking about. "Sure, let's go into the office. We won't be too long Clem," Lee informed the baffled girl. "Okay," Lee switched his kneeling position to standing. Jaiden placed the palm of her hands on the floor in order to give her boost as she didn't want to put pressure on her ankle. Though technique failed and she fell flat on her ass with a firm thump. "Ouch," she muttered. A hand emerged in her line of vision. She

latched her hand into Lee's, his fingers curling around hers to keep hold of it. He proceeded to boost her back onto her two feet, quickly as he did so. "Thanks, Lee," Jaiden slipped her hand out of his grip. "No problem," She trailed Lee into office, a few heads turned, wondering what the two were doing but thought none of it. She closed the door, softly behind her. "If this is about the motor inn, I know it must have-" Lee began only to be cut off by Jaiden's starchy voice. Her throat was starting to burn from the lack of dehydration.

"No, it's not at all. I have something for you," Lee crossed his arms, his expression morphing into one of puzzlement. Patiently, he waited for her to show him what she had for him. Taking a deep breath, Jaiden's hand slipped itself into her jean pocket.

She had to give him the picture, it wasn't hers to keep. Everyone should be able to have something that reminded them of their family, now that they were all most likely dead, it was more important than ever. Jaiden had her father's ring to remind her of those she loved dearly. The only thing that was missing was something linked with Ben but her memories would have to be as much as she had. She held the folded picture in between her thumb and index finger. Lee's eyebrows furrowed closer together, still not understanding. She extended her arm for him to take it from her, which he did. However he did so slowly. She leant against the wall as she observed his reaction. His eyes widened when unfolding the picture, a tiny yet gloomy smile graced his lips before it turned into sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Lee. I really am. They were amazing people," Lee's head snapped up, as if forgetting that she was there. "You knew them?" Lee guessed, fiddling with the picture distractedly. "Yeah, made me feel right at home when I first moved to Macon last month," In the corner of her eye, she noticed a first aid kit, that would help with her ankle.

"Were they happy?" Lee questioned, causing Jaiden to furrow her eyebrows together, her stress lines on her forehead creasing. "They made out like they were. Bill would tell cheesy jokes all the time. Jerry and Denna would be laughing their socks off but I knew what they were doing. They were covering up some sort of sadness. Trust me; I do it all the time. I know the ropes," Jaiden explained whilst opening the first aid box in search of bandage wraps. Behind her Lee muttered something under his breath, it sounded as if he was saying, "I hope she doesn't know…" Know what?

Thinking none of it, (though she kept what he had said in mind for later) she continued with the conversation. "They talked about you often," Finally her fingers felt the texture of the bandage wrappings. Grabbing it, she sat on the chair next to the mattress. Carefully, she began to untie her shoelaces, hissing as she did so. "Here let me help," he moved the mattress away, a trail of blood tracking the path of it. Jaiden's eyebrows upturned, when she saw the pained expression on his face.

It must be horrible for him knowing that the ones you loved were lying in that bed, praying to be saved only to be dragged out of the bed moments later by the monsters ready to devour you. Lee knelt down, gently pulling the shoe off. She sucked in a sharp breath, hating the pain a lot. At least the pain wasn't like the pain she had endured when Felicity and Lucy broke her wrist with their bare hands last year.

"What did my family say about me?" Lee questioned as he examined her ankle. She could tell he was trying to keep her mind off the ankle and it worked.

"They told me you had done something that they hated but they did say they loved you and you were a great man. So I took their word for it, I never pressured them into telling me what you had done. It was part of their private lives, not mine. But I sure whatever you did, they would forgive you in the end," She explained, staring at him all the time. Lee glanced up at her, his lip quirked up a little. "You're a good kid," he remarked to which she shrugged. "I try," After that the two fell into a comfortable silence.

* * *

Normally Jaiden would have thought that nothing could go wrong within the span of ten minutes. Now that the world was being overrun by the undead, she clearly had rethink anything that was impossible Lee had bandaged her ankle up before they left the office together. Whilst Lee went over to Doug, she went back to Clementine. The little girl had wondered what the matter was. Now Jaiden was never the one to lie to children, (apart from telling Jimmy that Santa Clause, the Easter bunny, the Tooth fairy and Jack Frost were real, he had become obsessed with Rise of the Guardians after watching it at the cinema), so she told Clementine their whole conversation.

To be honest, she didn't see the point in lying; Clementine probably knew about Lee and his parents. Lee had come back into the drugstore, keys to the pharmacy in hand, though Doug's expression was fearful and frightened. Maybe they had, had a run in with some monsters. She knew that Doug wasn't the greatest around the monsters, at first when they had to pull the Everetts onto the streets, he almost threw up. Doug was a great guy, don't get her wrong. Lilly and Lee then went into the pharmacy which set the alarm off. At this moment in time, she wished that fear wouldn't overcome her when they came to sticky situations. Voices were screaming back and forth over the all the commotion.

"I'm gonna get the truck pulled on back!" Kenny informed them all. Jaiden ambled around, the pain in her ankle had eased up a little as Lee had given her some painkillers. Currently, she was trying to find her bat, she was sure she had left it around her somewhere. "Do it fast! I've gotta get my dad out of here!" Lilly hollered before escaping the store through the office.

"I don't on dilly-dally! Honey, take Duck into the office and barricade the living hell out the door behind me. Glenn when you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people out of here!" Kenny yelled in a commanding tone. Jaiden fell onto all four, having seen the edge of the bat peeking out underneath on of the shelves.

"Jay! Bring your bat and come with me to help me get to my truck!" Hearing her order, she snatched the bat "Yes, sir!" She bellowed. Hopping back onto her feet, she made way to the office were Kenny was waiting. "Glenn, throw me you keys!" Without hesitation or asking why, Glenn threw his keys at her, she caught them but with slight difficulty (she wasn't the best at catching objects).

"C'mon girl!" Kenny's tone was one of impatient. Rather than arguing, she kept her head in the game and continued with her task. Her ankle was beginning to throb again, but she bite her lip, thinking that it would stop the pain. The two of them passed Katjaa and Duck in the office (she had finally learnt their names through Clementine), the little boy was helping his mother pull the desk and table near the door for a decent barricade. Entering the alleyway, Glenn's car was up ahead. Larry and Lilly using the car as a form of hiding for several monsters were passing a few feet away. "Kenny," She needed his attention, "What?" He answered gruffly, "We need the gas for you truck before you can get anywhere in it," She informed him, her voice was slightly panicked. The situation was becoming too overwhelming for her.

"Don't you think I know that kid?" He snapped. She held back a snarky comeback; right now wasn't the time to argue. She fiddled with the car keys to find the button to pop the truck open. When she did, she pressed her thumb on it. Kenny lifted it, grasping the gas almost immediately. "Lilly, can you start the car up please," Jaiden passed the woman the keys, the latter nodded. Kenny paused in his tracks, causing Jaiden to slam into the back of him, falling on her ass again as she did so.

"Listen kid," Kenny began, turning on his heel to face her, though he became perplexed when there was no one there. "Down here," She waved her arm in the arm. Kenny latched his hand on her arm to heft her up, back onto her two feet again.

"Listen Jay, we're gonna run to this truck like headless chicken. For now you're gonna have to deal with your twisted ankle, we have to get there. Got it?" Kenny explained. Jaiden bobbed her head up and down, determination written across her features. Instead of 'dilly-dallying' as Kenny put it, the two sprinted out of the alley. The pain in her ankle screamed in agony, pleading for her to stop.

Though it only fuelled her determination. At first there were no monster attacks, maybe the stray one here or coming closer. However, as Kenny and Jaiden turned the corner they were met with a horror. A horror that was a hoard of monsters all fighting to enter the drugstore. "Holy shit," Kenny stated, halting in his path to stare at them. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a monster about to pounce on him. Acting fast she shoved Kenny out of the way of its greedy hands. The monster's grasp latched onto her arm, its mouth opening wide to take a bite…

Only for an axe to cut its head in half.

"Thanks," She muttered as they resumed their task again. "Don't mention it," he replied as he sliced another monsters head off. Jaiden continuously smashed several monsters head in with her bat as she fought her way to the truck. She dodged any monsters that became too close for comfort. Not many were interested in them, for the alarm was gathering most of the attention. Kenny was far more ahead, already starting to fill the truck up with gas, the axe proving to be a better weapon.

If she thought the pain in her ankle beforehand killed, it was like Hell's fires were set on full blast and mainly aimed at her ankle. With as much strength as she could muster, she brought the bat back down one final time and surprisingly, it killed the monster instantly. Quickly, she glanced around, wanting to make sure that no more were about to lunge for them.

Behind her, the rumble of the truck seized her attention. Not wasting any time, she hopped into the front seat. "You alright kid?" Kenny wondered as he sped back to the back of the drugstore, some of the monsters following the roar of the engine. Jaiden rolled her eyes at kid. All the adrenaline pumping through her veins had made her emotions spiral out of control slightly. Her breathing was heavy as well, she'd have to get used to running around from now one.

"Will you stop calling me kid, redneck?" She barked in a tone that made Kenny raise one eyebrow. He ignored her. To be honest, she didn't really care as much. Kenny seemed like a decent guy but he almost got on her nerves a bit. He cut the engine and hopped out of the car, "Stay in here!" He instructed. She didn't protest and simply stayed in the car.

Then realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

There was no stopping this apocalypse. No one was going to save them. Not even the military. If the world was fucked over in three days, who knew what it would be like in a week. A month. A year. Once Hell came, there was no escaping its fiery clutches.

* * *

TA-DA! **Sorry if the ending seemed abrupt but want to get it over and done with. Please leave a review it means alot! **


	7. 28 Days Later

A/N**: I'm back! Anyways, I'm going away for a week, so I'm not to sure I'll be able to update next time (I'm trying to convince my parents to let me take my laptop with me. Yes that does sound silly but y'know). This chapter is a filler more than anything else. But there's more action next time, I have it all planned out. I want to see some reviews when I come back, even just one makes my day. Most importantly... ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter Six

'28 Days Later'

She clutched her side in agony, the blood seeped in between her fingers, leaving a trail behind her as she sprinted for her life. There were too many of them. She wasn't so sure that she'd escape this time. This was all her fault, if she had listened to Lee and Kenny she wouldn't be in this situation at all. She was stupid bitch that just wouldn't do as she was told.

Jaiden had found the opportunity to collect some more supplies for the motor inn, rather than listening to Kenny and Lee's protests she snuck in. A) She was smaller than the two; B) They were rapidly running out of supplies. Marks' goods wouldn't last forever, so they needed to prepare. There was no light except from the few beams of sunlight peeking through the holes of the building. As fast as she could, Jaiden gathered all the supplies before she handed them to Kenny and Lee through the crack she had slipped through.

Then that's when her doom came. The hairs on the back of her neck had raised, the senses had tingled from the danger nearby. Multiple moans had erupted in the dark building and she immediately knew that she was done for. The only weapon she had was Carley's pistol but she was a lousy shot anyway, no matter how hard the adults tried to teach her how to aim. Lee and Kenny had pleaded for her to climb up back through the crack but the Walkers were closing in fast. Jaiden shook her wounded head trying to forget how she came to the predicament.

She felt herself becoming weaker by the second, though she couldn't stop, she just had to escape. She didn't want to be eaten alive; she'd rather shoot herself in the head. It was her chance to finally do what she had craved to do since the Apocalypse started. Her heat beat thudded loudly in her ear drums, her breaths coming out in short pants. She glanced from side to side, seeing the Walkers closing in on her, she picked up the pace, no matter how hard it was.

Her thighs were burning from being exercised so much. The wound in her side was only becoming worse. The tip of her foot came into contact with a tree root and she flew to the ground. A scream left her lips as she landed on her side, the blood soaking the ground. She latched her hands onto her foot to tug it out, only to find it wedged in tight.

**You've never gonna get out of this situation.**

_You were fucking lucky the first time_

**_What makes you think you'll be able to survive again_**

**You're just a piece of shit**

_A piece of shit nobody likes_

**_Go cry to you daddy… oh wait you don't have one!_**

She dared not glimpse up at the Walkers for they would leave her in a more panicked state than she already was. As the current tactic wasn't working, Jaiden tried another tactic by kicking the tree root. The smell of rotten flesh reached her nostrils, meaning that they were nearby and ready to pounce on her. Luckily, the tree root began to snap. Jaiden thanked the heavens that this root was only a thin one.

With one final kick full of sheer power, the root snapped, realising her foot. Promptly, she sprung back onto her feet and resumed her previous task. There was a gap ahead, large enough for her to squeeze through. The corner of her lip quirked upwards in a victory smirk, maybe she could win this time instead of failing at everything.

Jaiden had wished for so long to be the best, actually mean something to the world. Perhaps the tables had turned for her. No matter how much she wanted to die, she had people to care for, people to help. Even if she was a useless piece of shit, she had to try, (which is the main reason why she jumped done to collect the supplies). Ahead there was a large forest, much like the one in Stone Mountain. Her lip quirked up, this could be her chance to hide from the Walkers. Abruptly, she halted in her tracks for she had seen something extremely unexpected.

"DON'T SHOOT!" She tightened her grip on her wound, bringing the other filthy hand upwards in a surrender position. Silence reached her ears, no moans, no heavy breathing, just complete and utter silence. There, standing in the gap were people who meant a lot to her. Lee, Clem, Carley, Glenn, Scarlett, Alan, Jimmy, Travis, Evie, Bill, Denna, Jerry, Amy, Renee, Robert, her father and Ben. They were all in a straight line, expressions of fury etched onto their faces, no emotion clear in their eyes. At first she had no idea why they were like this. In the centre, Ben held a shot gun tightly in his hands, aimed specifically at her.

"Walker!" They yelled simultaneously. She glanced back, thinking that they were warning her about a walker behind her. Only, the field she had been running through had disappeared, turning into a mirror instead, her reflection starting back at her.

However, she was unrecognizable. Observing the bizarre version of herself with narrowed eyes, she noted that she was missing one of her green trainers and her jeans had been ripped to shreds; scars on her now grey tinted skin proving that. Jaiden's counterpart was missing an arm as well as a gaping wound in her side. Finally, she raised eyes to gaze at her face, glasses gone. She was met was a horrible realisation. Her normal deep blue eyes had transformed into a murky white colour, much like the eye colour of a…

No…

The eye colour of a Walker. "No," She mumbled, her voice and body trembling. Turning around slowly, Jaiden lifted her hands in her line of vision. Her skin was rotten, peeling off at every angle. "MONSTER!" Ben bellowed. Jaiden's head snapped up at his voice, tears pooling in her eyes. "Stop! Please! Benny it's me! It's me!" She pleaded desperation evident in her tone. Ben's nose crinkled in disgust and he aimed the shotgun at her head.

BANG BANG BANG!

* * *

Jaiden gasped for air as she bolted upright in her bed. Someone was hitting the door repeatedly, "Come on, Jay, time to get up," Mark's voice commanded softly. Groaning she fell back onto the slightly sweaty bed. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes. That was the hundredth nightmare she had, had since the Apocalypse started and it was the same one every time. She found it difficult to sleep, knowing that the nightmare would keep on replaying, like a broken record tape.

On and on and on until she finally gave up. Was her brain trying to tell her that Ben would be the one to kill her? Or was it just the fact she was becoming to paranoid over everything? She wasn't sure anymore. Jaiden was beginning to lose her mind over the end of the world. The voices in her head had become considerably nasty as of late. At least they didn't wake her up now and again. Sometimes they would be screaming at her. Other times there were barely above a whisper.

The bed creaked as she rolled her body to the side in order to collect her only source of sight. Along the way she grabbed the pocket watch she had found on one of their scavenging hunts a couple of days ago. Slipping her black framed spectacles onto her nose and her father's ring onto her thumb, she gazed at the clock. The glass was a tad cracked but the only thing that mattered was that the clock was still ticking. It read half eight, meaning that it was her turn to be on watch today until it was Lilly's shift at twelve.

Lilly had planned a routine of people being on watch. Most of the time, Kenny, Lilly, Lee, Carley, Mark or herself were left to keep an eye on any trouble that may shuffle over to the Motor Inn. She could remember when they had all decided to make the Motor Inn their safe haven. Glenn had gone to Atlanta to see if any of his friends or family was still out there. She had noticed melancholy in Carley's dark brown eyes when they had arrived. From what Lee informed her, he couldn't save Doug in time before he was devoured by Walkers. Although she didn't get to socialise to Doug much, she would miss his dorky, over-technical presence.

The safe haven was short lived when the electricity cut off. In all honesty, she stank; the last time she had any form of self-cleansing was four days ago. The water had stopped working last week, so they had to travel to the lake that was quite the distance, an hour or so away from their safe haven. Lilly only allowed half the group to go one week and the other half to go the other.

Shaking herself loose, forgetting about everything that just passed through her mind, especially the nightmare. There was no point dwelling over it. It was just a horrible dream that wasn't real, just her mind playing tricks on her. She kicked the covers off of her body before hopping out of bed. Almost immediately, she shivered for the air in the motel room was cool; despite the fact that it was August (though it was nearing the end). Clad in only her bra and underwear; she ambled around the room in search of her clothes. Jaiden found then scattered in various places across the floor. Her plaid green checker shirt was hidden under the bed, her jeans near the door and her batman shirt had somehow crawled into the bathroom.

Hurriedly, she threw them on before collecting a hair band to tie her bed hair back. After that she grabbed her baseball bat. Although it had only been a month since all this shit happened, her hair now reached her collarbone, no longer neck length. When she was younger, her hair reached her waist and (as she put it) made her feel like a 'princess'. She always thought she was a strange child. But as the bullying began, they mocked her hair, so she snipped it all off. Alan, of course, had been very pissed off with her, though eventually he overcame his attitude towards it. Instead he teased her, claiming that she looked like a boy.

Jaiden's hand clasped the cool golden door knob in order to open it. A powerful breeze smacked her in the face, odd strands of hair, flying everywhere. Silently, she shut the door behind her, in fear that she would wake those who were still sleeping, mainly the children and Larry. The old man would become even crankier if he was disturbed in anyway.

"Mornin' lazy ass," Kenny greeted as she passed him, a small smirk plastered on his lips. Rolling her eyes, she halted in her tracks and reached for Kenny's hat. In a flash, she swiped it off his head.

"You little fucker…" He cussed, his tone laced in amusement. Before he had the chance to snatch it back, Jaiden had already begun to climb onto the top of the RV. Kenny's orange and white hat was situated on her head, covering her eye slightly for her head was tinier than his. As she slumped into the plastic chair, she noticed him staring at her, hands on hips, eyebrow raised.

"Ya gonna give it back, or do I have to come up there and get it?" He wondered. The corner of her lip tugged upwards, creating a grin. Lee appeared in her vision shaking his head at the two of them.

"Nice to see nothing's changed between you two," he commented. Rolling her eyes, she tugged the hat off of her head, "Good morning to you too, Lee," She threw Kenny's hat back down to him, which he caught with ease.

During the short time, Jaiden had become a lot friendlier with the adults. Mainly, Lee, Kenny, Carley and Katjaa. Lilly only saw her as a wimpy little child who couldn't do much as did Larry, but Lilly did treat her fairly. Honestly, she didn't give a flying fuck about what Larry said. He was a grumpy man who had nothing better to do than argue with everyone. She liked Mark but just hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him that much. Jaiden adored Clementine; she was a sweetheart and could brighten anyone's day.

Sometimes, she would notice if someone was a down or needed support and she did her best to make them better. Last but not least, Duck. He was completely oblivious to the outer world but maybe that is what they all needed. She had to admit, he was annoying sometimes but he could always make her giggle. Jaiden followed Kenny's figure as he travelled into his motel room, no doubt about to wake up his family. He was a lucky man, having his family here with him, rather than knowing that they could be out there dead or worse. Resting her elbows on her knees, she brought a hand underneath her glasses to massage her eyes.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Lee's voice her caused her to jump out of her skin slightly for she had thought he would have gone to work on the wall at the front of the motel.

"Yeah. Well kinda. It's not that important," She didn't want to irritate Lee with her problems, she was nearly seventeen (she guessed, her birthday near the end of August, the twenty-third to be precise). Lee raised one eyebrow, his arms folding together across his chest in a disbelieving manner.

"Are you sure, Jaiden?" She nodded, she knew he meant well. In fact, she was touched by his concern. He didn't have to bother but he did anyway. That's what she like most about Lee; he was willing to help you no matter who you are or what you have done. Another thing was that she didn't mind Lee calling her Jaiden instead of Jay. She has always hated her first name for Jaiden was a boy's name. She made motion to reply when Clementine came skipping over, her lifeless walkie-talkie in hand and her infamous cap on her head. Duck trailed behind her.

One of the walkie-talkies had broken when she had fallen on it back at the motor in and the other one's battery power had been sucked dry, meaning they were of no use. Clem had given Jaiden one of them, claiming that she only need one and that Jaiden could have faux conversations with her family. She had grinned at the little girl, thanking her for her kindness. Sometimes, the three of them would have fake spy mission, either one of them being the villain, the other two spies. The aim of the game to was capture the villain before they dominated the world. To be honest, Jaiden enjoyed playing 'childish' games, it cleared her mind. The voice had quietened down recently, for whatever reason, she didn't care that much. As long as they were gone, she could have peace.

"Morning Clemmy-Clue," Jaiden noted that Clementine's lips pulled into a grin. At first Clementine disliked Jaiden's nickname for her and pouted over it, which resulted Jaiden using the name more often. Eventually, she overcame her frustration. Before anyone had the chance to elaborate on their morning conversation, Duck's eager voice cut through. _It's like the kid's high on sugar or something, _she thought wryly.

"Jay, Jay, Jay!" He repeated her name several time. In the meanwhile, Lee wondered off, going to talk to Carley and Clementine observed their interaction.

"That is my name Ducky, don't wear it out," She joked, mirth laced in her tone. She heard Clementine giggle quietly, causing a small smile to grace her lips. However, Duck didn't react for he was far too busy bouncing on one foot to the other.

"Can we play superheroes again today, please! You can be batman again because you have the shirt and I'll be Robin and Clementine can be Batgirl again. Or maybe one of us could be the Joker or you can be Alfred. I dunno. Please. Please! Please!" He begged. Jaiden sighed shaking her head at his enthusiasm.

"First of all, calm down, take a few breaths. Second of all, why don't you ask what Clem wants to do?" Jaiden nodded her head towards the other girl who had her arms crossed, a scowl on her face. Duck shook his head, he blinked several time as if he had forgotten Clementine was there. Doing a ninety degree jump, he came to face her.

"So. Do wanna play superheroes?" Duck's hands were behind his back and he stood on the tip of his toes, waiting for her answer.

"We did that yesterday. Can we draw instead?" Clementine glanced up at Jaiden, hope etched across her face. This time it was Duck's turn to scowl and cross his arms; any excitement on his face had washed away, replaced with a sour expression.

"We always draw, Clementine! Anyways it's boring," Jaiden noticed that this pointless argument would rapidly escalate into a massive fight between the two children.

"If you two can't agree on anything, I'll have to decide what we do instead," Jaiden toyed with her father's ring. The children opened their mouths to protest, when Katjaa saved every a lot of trouble.

"Come on you two. Stop hassling Jay, let her carry on with her job," Katjaa shooed the children away but kept a close eye on them as they pranced away. Once they had disappeared, Jaiden piped up. "Thanks Katjaa," A soft warm close lipped smile made way onto the Belgium woman's face.

"No problem, sweetheart. I'll let you continue with your job. Call if you need anything," With one final smile, she ambled over to her husband. Jaiden slumped back into the plastic chair, a grin settled on her face. Maybe it wasn't going to that bad after all.

**You do realise that saying that will most likely jinx it**

_Yet again Jaiden Phillipa Matthews you are a dumbass_

**_I thought we were leaving her alone for a while_**

**Oops. Well, I felt the need to comment**

_Now look who's the dumbass_

**Shut your piehole**

**_Calm down guys, do you want her to get pissed off?_**

**I don't give to shits.**

'Do you lot mind?'

**_Sorry Jay-Jay_**

She huffed at the voices in her head. They've been arguing more than pissing her off though their fights only made her more aggravated. Sighing she let her eyelids flutter closed for a brief second, thinking back to one of her weaker moments at the start of the Apocalypse.

* * *

_Lilly had asked her to search through one of the abandoned cars, to see if there was anything useful; weapons, clothing, anything that would help with survival. So far she had found a magazine of bullets, a pair of bloodied shoes and some stationary. Jaiden thought that it would be a good idea to give bullets to Carley. She supposed that they would fit her gun. She'd never been near a gun in her life; she had a slight fear over them. With a gun came power, power to make everyone stop what they were doing because you had the advantage. Plus she had heard about the things guns could do, she would take her chances with her baseball bat. Though sooner or later, she'd have to be able to use a gun if her bat became useless. The stationary Jaiden would give to Clem for girls liked drawing and all that jazz. To be honest, Jaiden only knew what little boys like, Jimmy was an example. He loved space, dinosaurs and robots._

_Climbing out of the back seat, she soundlessly shut the door behind her. Jaiden hissed when her applied pressure on her ankle. Now that the adrenaline from sprinting to the car and the painkiller were wearing away, it felt as if her ankle was on fire. Hurriedly, she climbed into the front passenger seat, wanting to keep the ankle pain to a minimum. First of all, she checked the glove compartment; there would normally be something in there, maybe the keys? They could find fuel and then use it as a form of transportation if the motor inn didn't become their safe haven. _

_Her fingertips grazed a cool object with various buttons. Excitement spread through her body, a smile full of hope appearing on her face. Pulling the object away from its hiding spot, her guess was correct. It was phone. However her smile disappeared as quickly as it came. There was only enough life for one call. She would have to choose who to call very carefully. The call might be wasted though as no one would pick up. Nate wouldn't give a damn about her emotions; Scarlett was most likely a rotting corpse shuffling around lifelessly in the street. Her heartstrings tugged as the last image she had of her sister flashed through her mind. It was sick, all of it. The monsters didn't care if a woman was eight months pregnant with a girl. They didn't care at all. _

_She couldn't call Alan, he was probably fighting this war, plus she doubted that he would have his phone on him. Instead, Jaiden decided that she would call the number she knew off by heart. Ben. With shaky fingers, she typed in his number before pressing the green button and pressing it to her ear. She hoped that he was safe, the same for his family. She remembered how he was travelling to playoffs, who knew were Robert, Renee and Amy were? _

_She didn't knew how she would react he wasn't alive but she knew that it would be the best. Ben kept her going; he reminded her that it was worth being alive. She should have told him how she felt when she left for Macon. She didn't give two shits if it sounded mushy or like one of those cheesy romantic movies. She didn't care if she saw him the next day or the day after, she knew that was moment to tell him and she didn't capture it in time. _

_The phone just kept dealing, never ending beeps coming through the receiver. _

_"C'mon Benny. C'mon pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up," by now tears were making tracks down her pale, filthy face, fogging her glasses along the way and her breaths came out in shaky breaths. Then she heard it._

_His voice_

_Though it wasn't the words she was searching for. _

_"Hey this is Ben here. You probably already knew that. I'm busy doing stuff and… thangs," He sighed as someone giggled in the background, "Anyways, leave a message and I'll call you back," For a moment Jaiden did nothing. _

_All of the weight of the past three days came crashing down on her, Ben's voicemail being the scissors that cut off the thin rope that the weight was hanging off. The phone fell from her grasp, her glasses slipping off her nose too, landing by her feet. She wept for all those she had lost, she wept over everything. As she sobbed her heart out, Lee and Kenny observed her with sorrowful eyes. _

_"You can't blame her," Lee commented. Kenny's lips thinned, his arms enfolded across his chest. _

_"I know with all this fucking shit we've all seen, I'm surprised the kids haven't broken down," Kenny bobbed his head sullenly. _

_"What do ya think got her so riled up?" Kenny wondered, giving his friend a sideways glance. The man beside his shrugged, his eyebrows furrowing together, _

_"Who knows what she's seen. Could be worse than what's happened to us." Lee guessed. _

_"From what I've noticed, she's a little sensitive," Lee continued, his utterance causing the redneck to frown, his lips going to an even straighter line. "Sooner or later, she's gonna have to suck it up," Lee sighed over the man's reaction, "Let's just go easy on her, Ken," With that Lee ambled over to Clementine. Shaking his head, Kenny went over to his family, plastering a faux smile as he did._

* * *

A little while later, Jaiden was playing soccer with the kids. At first they had protested but they let it go when they realised she wasn't going to change what their activity. According to Duck, he was the master of soccer and everyone at school was envious of his skills. She had just laughed as did his parents for they were observing the game carefully, just in case anything got out of hand. Currently, Duck was in goal and Clementine attempted to tackle Jaiden. Although the teen was never very good at soccer (for she fell on her ass every time), she could get past an eight year old girl but Clementine was quite excellent at it. Noticing that there was a gap small enough for the ball to go through, Jaiden grabbed the chance by kicking the ball with all her might…

Only for the ball to fly over the wall, bouncing into the forest as well as rustling some trees along the way.

"Oh shit," She cursed as the two Caul's eyes filled with fury, the fire clear in their eyes as they turned to Jaiden, who blanched. "Swear," Clementine stated offhandedly.

"Do you realise what you've done you stupid bitch!" Larry's words stung and his booming voice making her flinch, dread consuming her. "I-I'm sorry!" She stuttered, wrapped her arms around her middle self-consciously. "

You don't get to be fucking sorry! You could attract Walkers and they could be coming here right now!" Larry began with his rant, as he became more infuriated by the second, everyone came over.

"Dad-"

"No, Lilly. This bitch has fucked up too many times and she doesn't give two shits. I say she should go and get the ball," He stalked over to her, the fire in his eyes blazing at fall force Jaiden swallowed, squeezing her shut just waiting for Larry to grab her roughly and throw her out. But a breeze fell in front of her signalling that someone had stepped in front of her. Opening one eye, she realised that the figure was Lee and a hand clasped her shoulder. Glancing behind her, she found Carley nodding at her sternly, though her eyebrows were raised in a compassionate manner.

"Walk away, Larry," Lee warned, his voice low and fury bubbled beneath his tone, his fists clenched. Although, she couldn't see Lee expressed, she knew that it was pissed. Larry's eyes narrowed as he scanned the adults that were positioned near Jaiden. Shortly afterwards, his livid gaze locked onto her fearful one. His gaze sent a message, a message that she didn't like at all. _Later_. Shivers crept up her spine and her fingernails dug into her clammy palm. With one final glance at everyone, Larry stomped away into his motel room. She let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. Any fear was replaced with relief. Relief that he hadn't done anything. There was silence among the group as everyone soaked in what happened. Feeling that this moment would become awkward very quickly; Jaiden cleared her throat, causing everyone to turn their attention towards her.

"I'm- uh- gonna go get that ball, then," She scuffled backwards to retrieve her bat which lay on the sofa. Lee and Kenny made motion to protest when Lilly piped up. "Just be quick and we can all forget that this happened. I'm sorry about my dad by the way, Jay," Picking up her trusty bat, she shook her head.

"It's my fault, don't worry about it," Lilly bobbed her head in return before resuming with her previous task. Fiddling with her square spectacles, she made her way across the parking lot to the wall. Along the way, someone's hand clasped her arm, halting her movement. She nearly stumbled over but managed to keep her footing.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to come with you?" Lee wondered, his eyes filled with worry. She gave him a reassuring smile, despite the fact that the voices were screaming at her not to go alone.

"It's my problem, Lee. Besides, the ball can't have gotten that far," Seeing as he wasn't convinced, she tried again.

"Don't worry about me, Lee. I'm a big girl," His lips thinned but he let go of her arm, then patted her shoulder before wondering off to Carley. Taking a deep breath, she reached the wall and jumped over it (more like stumbling over it). "Be safe," Clementine commanded, lightly. Turning on her heel to face the little girl, she swung her bat over her shoulder and raised two fingers to her head before realising them in a mock salute fashion. "Yes ma'am," Clementine giggled. Spinning back to the forest, she soundlessly entered the forest.

Her eyes and ears were on high alert; she knew that the sound of the ball may have attracted a Walker. Her footsteps crushed several fallen leaves. There were some birds chirping in the distance, the sky was lifeless today, signalling that rain would fall later. She sniffed the air, normally she would smell a rotting odour but now she smelt nothing but clean, fresh air. Her lungs ached for more, finally feeling relief of such a wonderful scent. Even though being out in the woods felt like home again, she had a task to complete. She tightened her grip on the baseball bat, not backing down at all. She just kept going forward, hoping that the ball would be nearby.

**You dumbass. why did you have to go and play soccer? You know that you're shit at it!**

Jaiden smacked the side of head; she didn't have time for the voice's shit at the moment. In her mind, they grumbled from the action. Rolling her eyes, she continued her journey. The wind ruffled through her hair, blocking her vision for a moment. As soon as it cleared up, she spotted the ball a few metres away. She was about to stalked over there and bolted out of the forest, when she froze in place. Behind her, bushes rustled and she could sense eyes on her. Though it didn't feel like Walker's eyes. In fact they felt human. Jaiden decided not to call out 'Who's there', like stupid people did in movies. No she couldn't risk the noise.

Instead, she collected the ball and bolted out of the forest, glad that she didn't run into the person or any walkers. In the corner of her eye, she noticed shadows of people. Knowing that they were most likely walkers, she sprinted even faster. Her breaths came out in short gasp, still not used to running everywhere. Internally she cursed herself for not collecting any wood. She would use that wood and create stakes. It may sound like a stupid idea but they could do a lot of harm. After all, she was an inventor, it's what she does. Finally, she emerged from the woods, the motor inn appearing in her view. She stopped running for there was no need to anymore.

"Jay?" Kenny called, yet she didn't reply. Rather, she just hopped over the wall and dropped her belongings before collapsing on the concrete. Fatigue consumed her as she lay there. She was far too tuckered out to do anything. Someone kicked her side gently. Opening one eye, she was met with Kenny's figure looming over her.

"What got ya so spooked?" He wondered, picking up the ball in the meanwhile. "Nothing," She stated lamely. Kenny shrugged then strolled over to his son. She still couldn't shake the feeling of the eyes away. There was someone out there and quite frankly she didn't want to know who.


	8. What Remains Behind

**My apologies that it is late but here you go. Remember REVIEW AND ENJOY**

* * *

Chapter Seven

'What Remains Behind'

A man no older than thirty lowered his binoculars, his eyes narrowed to slits. Wrapping the binocular straps around his neck, he began to climb out of the tree. Along the way, a splinter dug its way into his skin.

"You little piece of shit," He cursed. Instead of climbing the rest of the way, he jumped down, landing with ease. He was a giant of a man; his eyes made him appear to be more menacing. Dirt caked his skin, a little blood mingling with it. His once white shirt had transformed into a scrap piece of fabric that barley covered his top half. He didn't have any sort of feet protection on, leaving him only in his bare feet and his hair appeared as if he had been dragged through a bush and back. He looked like a caveman. Ear splitting groans erupted from the monsters before him. They were his 'pets' so to speak. He called one Red and the other Freckles.

To him they had the distinct appearance of those he once knew. Red's hair had either been moulted off or tugged out of its scalp and it had a large gaping wound across her middle. The man turned his gaze on junior, sorrow filled him. The tiny monster was only a child. A furious fire spread across his body, the sorrow acting as fuel, only making the fire worse. Today was the today.

He was going to teach that bitch a lesson for leaving them behind. He would make sure that she'd never leave him. Thus the only way in doing that was to kill her, which meant she'd turn into a monster. Then finally, he could have the complete doll set. Smirking cruelly, he grabbed his pet's leeches. He knew their routine; he'd been observing them for weeks now. His target and another guy would be collecting wood and such in an hour. His smirk grew as he thought about the time he spooked her in the forest. Her reaction sent him in a fit of laughter.

_It's only a matter of time…_

* * *

"28…29…30… Ready or not here I come!" Jaiden announced, removing her hands from her glasses as she did so. To her right, Katjaa chuckled softly for she was observing the game carefully.

Ever since the incident with the ball, all those weeks ago, Lilly had made a rule that any form of game played by the children (Lilly still counted her as a child, even if she was seventeen now). Normally, Katjaa, Carley, Kenny or Lee kept a close eye on them, the others claiming that they had more important things to be doing. She just figured that they didn't want to be on 'babysitter duty'. To be honest who would want to keep an eye on children? (Yes she included herself in that category, she'd become used to being labelled as a child, despite the fact she hated it with a burning passion).

Nonetheless, she enjoyed her time with the kids; they made her feel in some ways useful and not just a whiny hormonal bitch. No, she had to stop thinking about herself. Jaiden felt herself changing, adapting to this new life. On the wall facing opposite her bed, she had marked the days that they had all survived for. Currently the tally stated fifty-three, meaning that they were nearing two months. Overall, they were going tough, never backing down. In the Motor Inn she found sanctuary, a place they could stay in for a long time. But the eyes never left.

Her life was hanging by a thread the moment she entered that damned forest. The one thing she knew for definite was that the owner of these shadowy, malicious eyes was coming to get her. And it was going to end dreadfully. Being the dumbass she was, she didn't tell anyone (anyone primarily being Lee). She was being stupid and she knew it. Lee wouldn't dismiss her like most people did but the fear of that prevented her from doing so. Jaiden thought that the eyes were just her imagination; her mind wasn't exactly the most stable one in the universe. Not will all the voices constantly shrieking in her head, she wasn't sure how she kept going. She just wanted to silence them, be done with them. She was drained. Day by day, the eyes came back with more fire. The gaze was so scorching, she felt as if it was cooking her into a pleasant piece of meat. That thought caused her mouth to begin watering. She craved meat more than anything in the world.

Clenching her teeth together, she came back to reality. Her ears perked up at the sound of giggling. It resounded from her right, which was the RV. Rolling her eyes softly, she began to amble around the RV. Jaiden knew that they had seen her arriving because they were sprinting towards the back of the motel room. They wouldn't go too far, well Duck might attempt to only for Clementine to stop him otherwise. She picked up her pace, just in case they had. In the corner of her eye, she noticed the two pressed against the wall as much as possible, undoubtedly believing that they would camouflage into the wall. Fixing her glasses to make them as straight as they could go, she decided to play along. After all, it was all fun and games.

"I wonder where Duck and Clementine are…" She spun on her heel, her face transforming into one of 'confusion'. To seal the package, she brought a hand to her chin then began stroking her pretend beard. The children's giggles intensified, which caused a full blown grin to explode onto her face. In a flash, she pounced on the kids, lifting Clementine up as she was the closest.

"NO!" She wailed. Immediately, Jaiden brought Clem back to her feet before seizing the girl's hat and darting away with it.

"Hey!" Clementine exclaimed irate coated her tone. Jaiden only cackled like a mad woman, skipping towards her room.

"Get the villain!" Duck cried, pointing her direction. Most of the adults chuckled at the three of them, Larry just huffing at them grouchily. Whipping the door open, she dived onto her bed, bouncing back from impact. Shortly afterwards, she was tackled to the floor, the hat falling from her grip. Landing on her back, a foot rested lightly on her stomach. Glancing up, she noticed the two glaring at her. "Do you, Jay Matthews, surrender?" She gave a faux terrified expression, gulping to add effect.

"I-I do," She stuttered. Duck nodded as Clementine placed her hat firmly back on her head. "Everything okay in here?" Mark popped his head around the door frame, his eyebrow quirked up at the scene before him.

"Listen here Mark. Don't get on the bad side of these two. They can be very dangerous," She winked at him, secretly asking him to play along. "I'll keep that in mind," He dashed out of the room, a trail of mirth following in his wake.

Duck removed his foot from her stomach, leaving a muddy footprint behind. "Sorry," He apologized for the stain on her only shirt.

"Don't be silly, Junior," She waved him off with a flick of her hand. Whilst climbing back onto her feet, she brushed her front. She placed her left hand on Duck's head, the other one Clem's head before giving them pats.

"Off you go guys. Go see if anyone wants some help," Gently, she steered them out of her room, closing the door behind her. Jaiden let out a large sigh, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. By now, she should be used to children wearing her out but it seemed the stress from the apocalypse was crushing her, as if she was hauling an invisible, massive weight around. Opening her closest, she grabbed a torn jacket she had found lying around. The days were rapidly growing frostier. The warm summer of August had disappeared, being replaced with the gusty days of September. After she slipped the jacket on, she grasped her baseball bat. She and Lee were collecting wood for they only had one or two logs left.

"You ready to go?" Lee wondered as she emerged from her room. He leant on the RV, the sun shining on his face. "Yup," She popped the p. He moved away from the RV to begin ambling over to the gate (which was two large trash cans). Mark and Larry had completed the building of the wall last week, meaning that they had protection from the Walkers.

"How long will you two be gone?" Lilly questioned from the top of the RV, a rifle on her lap. The two halted in their path, simultaneously spinning on their heels to gaze up at her. Jaiden brought a hand to the edge of her glasses to shield her eyes from the blinding sun. "An hour. If not don't come looking for us, we probably ran into some walkers, so we'd have to come the Lee motioned for Jaiden to follow him to the gate. Not wanting to waste any more time, she did as she was told.

**I'm a little confused**

_Why?_

**_Did you not hear that?_**

**Doing as she's told. Puh-lease.**

_Well she has done for a while now…_

**_Doesn't mean nuthin'_**

**This is Jaiden we are talking about…**

_And…_

**_She's the chick that never listened to her brother or her sister._**

**Remember that time they told her not to be in the same room as her parents?**

_Yes… and this is relevant how?_

**_Well she ended up locked in her fucking basement and her father was dead upstairs._**

She growled in frustration. Why did their conversation lead to that subject? Every damn time. What was frightening Jaiden the most was they were beginning to acknowledge each other. This could lead to a greater force of voices bashing against her fragile mind. She imagined that her mind was a piece of glass, the voices being the small pebbles. Every day, the pebbles would be thrown at the glass. Not even caring about the many cracks that littered it. By now the glass had turned an opaque colour because of how many pebbles that had been tossed. At first the glass was invincible, the pebbles only creating tiny dent but as she grew older and more aware of the purpose of the voices. They had been with her since birth, though they lay low, unseen by her mind's defences. She couldn't remember when they started yelling at her but she guessed they broke free when the 'accident' happened. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Lee raise an eyebrow.

"What's the noise for?" At first she was a tad perplexed, and then it dawned on her. The growl in her chest must have travelled up her throat to make it audible. A faint blush tainted her cheeks. Jaiden wasn't used to blushing anymore.

"Er… Nothing…" She uttered, sending a nervous smile his way. Lee shook his head whilst chuckling. Out of nowhere, Clementine appeared opposite them, her hand tightly wrapped around her walkie-talkie.

"Be careful!" She ordered, glaring at the two sternly. "We will, Clemmy-Clue," The girl grinned at her nickname.

Lee lowered himself to her level, placing the axe on the ground. He opened his arms, gesturing her to hug him, which she did without hesitation. Jaiden glanced away to give the two their time. Clementine was the daughter that Lee never had; they were allowed their little family moments. "Can we play another game when you get back, Jay?" Clementine seized Jaiden's attention away from one of the dying trees.

"Yeah that sounds good, Clem. Why don't you and Duck think about a super cool game to play whilst I'm gone? Make it a good one," She bopped Clementine's nose gently, causing another giggle to escape her lips. The laughter coming from the girl made Jaiden's lip quirk up, joy spreading through her.

They waved Clementine goodbye and as they were about to disappear into the forest, yet another voice halted them. "Take my gun just in case," Carley threw the gun before either of them had any idea what was going on. Luckily, Jaiden caught it, though she did so rather clumsily. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she brushed imaginary dirt off her clothes; embarrassment overriding her emotion. Lee sniggered over her actions, to which she pushed him lightly on the shoulder. "Let's get going before anyone else stops us," He suggested. Nodding, she followed him into the forest, tucking the gun into her jeans as she did so.

* * *

The deeper they went into the forest, the more Jaiden felt twitchy and afraid. To her the eyes seemed much closer than they had before. They were so near that she could literally feel the heat radiating onto her skin, making her feel boiling hot. Lee must have noticed her apprehension for he was gazing at her oddly.

"Everything okay Jaiden?" He questioned. Toying with her glasses, she bobbed her head. "Yeah. The woods just give me the creeps sometimes," She could tell that he doubted her answer.

"How are you getting on with Clem?" Jaiden switched the subject for she didn't want Lee to keep questioning her.

"Things are good. She's like the daughter I've always wanted. It's a shame that I met her under these circumstances," He explained. She hummed in agreement, "I know what you mean,"

"What about you?" She glanced over at Lee, eyebrows furrowing. Seeing her puzzlement, he elaborated, "How are you getting on with the kids?" Jaiden shrugged, swinging her bat in a circular motion by her side, a habit she had picked up on.

She found that she had numerous habits; some of which she didn't even realise she had until Ben informed her about it. The ones she knew of were that she toyed with either her father's ring or her spectacles whenever she felt anxious or humiliated, another being she sang the first three lines of Bee's Gees _Staying Alive _whenever she felt elated. According to Ben, she cleaned whenever she was upset; even if there was nothing to clean she would find something any way.

"I guess I'm doing okay. Y'know Duck reminds me a lot of my nephew Jimmy. He was oblivious to the outer world and kinda didn't stop talking. One second he would be talking about dinosaurs the next it would be aliens. He's so much like my sister it freaks me out," A small grin appeared onto her face. Jaiden rarely talked out her family; she found it difficult for the images of Jimmy's rotting corpse and the echoes of Scarlett's cries popped into mind. So the fact that was talking about them stunned Lee.

"Was he a troublemaker?" Lee wondered, mirth scattering his tone. "Thinking about it, he really was. This one time, it was Scarlett's baby shower a few months back and, uh, Jimmy wasn't happy about the fact he was having a sibling," Jaiden was about to continue when they saw a lot of Walkers in the clearing.

The clearing where the wood was. Quickly, she hid behind a tree, pressing herself to it as close as she could. Clutching the bat close to her chest, her gaze travelled around, in search of Lee. She spotted him to her far right; he too was pressed up against the tree. They caught each other's gazes and held it there for the time being

_'How many of them are there?' _She mouthed. Lee held up a finger, silently telling her to wait. She viewed him as he quickly transported his head out of the cover, into the unsafe area, his brown eyes roaming the Walkers. She heard them snarl over something, then Lee rested his head on the bark, taking deep breaths as he did so. Her eyebrows upturned, Lee may act fearless (which was very noble) but who in their right mind wasn't afraid of those monsters.

**'Nine'**, he reported. Inwardly, she cursed. They could never take those many out. Sure they had three weapons; the gun would be a massive risk and would only attract more of them. What would they do now? They couldn't really go back, they would only follow them as the walkers in the clearing had stopped whatever they were doing, meaning that they could smell the two of them, '**We have to split up!' **Lee's words sent panic through her. Vigorously, she shook her head. '_No!' _Briefly, she squeezed her eyes shut, a plan formulating in her head.

**You can't do that!**

_It's suicidal!_

**_We wanna live too y'know!_**

**__****GO ON THEN DO IT YA CRAZY BITCH!**

_SEE IF WE CARE!_

Rather stupidly, she stepped out her cover.

She attempted to whistle but no sound came out, only air. "HEY!" She hollered. That certainly did the trick.

"Jaiden what are you doing?" Lee's voice was low, a splash of puzzlement too. "You need the wood for the motor inn and they're not moving anytime soon," She informed him out of the corner of her mouth.

"Jaiden!" She ignored him as the Walkers were stretching their rotten limbs towards her, advancing quicker than she had hoped. She couldn't use the gun, no, that would only attract more. She began to take steps back, wanting to keep a reasonable distance from the Walkers.

"Come at me you sons of bitches!" She taunted, ushering them over with her hands. "JAIDEN!" Lee called, loud enough for her to hear of the snarls of the Walkers.

"Get the wood and meet me back at the motel!" She ordered. Instead of listening to Lee's answer, she picked up her pace to a run. With her baseball bat at her side, she felt protected enough but the Walker's growls set her on edge. This was a stupid plan and she knew it. Nonetheless, she kept sprinting, stopping every so often to regain her breath and letting the Walkers catch up. The forest seemed to go on forever. To her all the trees appeared the same. The same orangey-golden leaves attached to their branches or scattered across the muddy ground. It had rained last night, a clear sign of September weather. By now her thighs were burning and screaming at her to stop, take a break. Her mouth was dry, desperately needing to be hydrated. Though, she couldn't stop now. The Walkers wouldn't give up, so she decided to take action. Halting in her tracks, she spun around; readying her bat as she did so, prepared to take them down.

Only for someone to tug her out of the way.

She squealed in surprise, glasses slipping from her nose, her baseball bat falling out of her grasp, not expecting it at all. The 'saviour' clamped a clean yet stinking cloth over her mouth. Realising what this was, she stopped breathing not wanting to sniff it in. Her vision made it difficult for her to make out the person, though her hearing was absolutely fine. "Hello Velma," They whispered menacingly in her ear. Then she knew exactly who that was, only one person called her that. She struggled against the person's strong grip, not wanting the chloroform to knock her out. The captor hushed her. Eventually, her eyes fluttered shut and she sagged against the person; total darkness overcoming her.

_We're so screwed…_

* * *

Lee watched as Jaiden jumped out into the open, her limbs flying all over the place. His eyebrows scrunched together, was she mad or something? "Jaiden what are you doing?" He wondered, fearing for her as the Walkers came close. He should pull her out of the way, yet she seemed perfectly fine with her plan. He couldn't interfere, he knew her well enough to know she didn't like it when people did.

"You need the wood for the motor inn and they're not moving anytime soon," So this was her plan. It was only wood! They could find it elsewhere. Internally, he growled. The outcome of this would be she would end up dead or worse, a Walker.

"Jaiden!" He hollered. His hands were clammy as he held the axe tightly. The two of them wouldn't be able to take them both out. If she wanted to take the risk, he let her. She reminded them countless of times that she wasn't a child and was very capable of doing things herself. He of all people knew that. The Walkers were swarming her now; he could only see that top of her ashen blonde head. After all, she was quite tiny, just an inch or two taller than Carley (and that was something in itself).

"JAIDEN!" He yelled over the Walkers. ""Get the wood and meet me back at the motel!" He could barely make out her words for the Walkers were creating was very deafening; he'd never heard anything like it (excluding the drugstore situation).

"Just come back!" He ordered, though she didn't reply. A wave of fear overcame him. Did they get to her already? No. They couldn't have, he would have heard her cries for help. Shaking his head, he decided to follow her order. Hopefully, she would be back before he arrived at the Motor Inn. Though he had a feeling of doubt set in his gut.

Nonetheless, he sprinted back to the haven as fast as he could. His injury had healed perfectly and he felt like his old thirty-seven year old self again. However, his leg gave sometimes gave him problems. In all fairness, the wound was deep, he'd never felt anything like it. Except the time when his brother accidentally shoved him out of their tree house when he was fourteen, Bill was only nine. He had gone to hospital with an extremely terrible head wound, a fractured elbow and a broken leg. It seemed that dashing back to the motor inn was a lot quicker than ambling.

"Lee?" Lilly lowered her gun when she saw him emerge from the woods. His face must have been panicked because everyone's faces were apprehensive. "What's the problem?"

"It's Jaiden," He informed them.

"What the fuck about her?" Kenny cussed, coming to open the gate for him, Lee thanking the redneck on the way in.

"There were Walkers by the clearing where the wood logs were and she started screaming to draw them away. Then I lost her," He explained. Everyone remained silent as they soaked in the information he presented. Lee waited with berated breaths for everyone's reaction. What he did know that the Caul's wouldn't be pleased at all.

"Then what do you fucking expect us to do about it?" Larry's usual grumpy voice came. Lee stifled the urge to make a comeback. Quite frankly he didn't have time for the old man's shit today. Not after what happened moments ago.

"Listen, she said that she'd meet me back here. I say we wait a few minutes if not we go looking for her," Lilly didn't seem to agree with Lee's plan for her lip thinned and her perfect eyebrows knotted together deeply.

"We can't do that, Lee. Waiting is okay but going to find her, that's a risk we can't take. That was her decision to be reckless, we can't afford to," She clarified, folding her arms across her chest in a defensive manner. Lee made motion answer only for his hot-tempered friend to piped up.

"Who the fuck is we in this? You're not the only one here. I say we go find that girl if she doesn't come back. It's only fair!" Kenny's tone one of rage, stating that he wasn't to be messed with.

Unexpectedly, a soft warm hand slipped into his free calloused one. Glancing down, it was only Clementine. The young girl had become very special to him. She had wormed her way into his heart rapidly and he swore that he would do whatever it took protect her from the cruel, harsh world. After meeting Clementine, Lee wished that he could have had children with his wife, Sam. However, the two of them always had countless arguments, even at the start of their marriage. It became so terrible that she ended up cheating on him, which led to death; destruction being left behind.

"Who cares," Larry's grump voice wormed its way into the conversation.

"I suggest you keep out of the conversation," Carley glared at the old man.

"Shut the fuck up bitch," The argument was becoming out of hand rapidly and if someone didn't do something, it would spiral out of control.

"Hey, c'mon Larry. You can't speak like that to a lady," Mark too had wandered over to see what the fuss was about. "Clem," Lee knelt down to the little girl's height, so they were eye-to-eye.

"Why don't you and Duck go find something to do while we sort this out? Okay?" He proposed, not wanting her to be anywhere near Larry. The moment the man punched him in the face, he knew he was trouble.

Lee beat himself up about murdering the state senator every day; he didn't need another person helping with the blows. At the time utter rage had speared through him. That was his wife, not the senators. He loved his wife more than anything in the world and seeing them together blew his lid off. It broke his heart that their relationship had led to that. So many thoughts were running through his mind when happened, he hadn't even realised that the senator was dead, blood staining the freshly cleaned carpet.

Until he heard his wife's screams. The fear on her beautiful features had caused him physical pain and the fact that he had caused such fear made him feel dead inside. Taking a breath, he washed in dark thoughts away. Right now there was a situation that needed him. Clementine bobbed her head. She latched onto him briefly before dashing over to Duck. Standing straight again, he re-entered the conversation he had started.

"-fault. She's the one that decided to be a crazy bitch and lure the Walker away. All for what? Some fucking wood!" Larry argued, his face becoming flushed. Lee could tell that if the man didn't calm down soon, he's have a heart attack. The last time he was luck that he didn't.

"Well it seems to me that she was trying to help," Mark snapped, which was a first. Everyone was becoming sick and tired of the old man's behaviour towards others; it was mostly Lee, Jaiden and Carley that were severed the most venom.

"Well she didn't do a very fucking job. I bet you my lucky coins that she's dead," Fury bubbled deep within Lee, he's heard enough.

"We are going to find her no matter what you say! We need to keep each other safe and arguing isn't going to solve anything. Imagine if this was you out there. Wouldn't you want someone to help you?" Lee's small speech certainly did the trick as everyone kept their mouths shut and their lips drew into thin lines. For the time being, everyone mulled over what he had uttered in silence.

After a few seconds Katjaa broke the silence, "If Jay doesn't back in ten minutes, I could stay here with the children whilst you go look for her," Kenny made motion to argue with her suggestion but Lilly dived in before that could happen.

"We don't need everyone to go out there for one person. It's be better if only two people went, we can't lose any more people," Lilly looked firmly at Lee as she spoke, meaning that he would be one of the two people.

"I'm going with Lee," Kenny stated, his tone leaving no room for arguments, though his eyes skimmed the group to see if someone would. Eventually, everyone moved away, most likely returning to their previous tasks. Larry didn't seem pleased with the situation at hand. Lee couldn't care less; the man will forever and always be a grump, not matter how hard he tried to get along with him. He figured that Larry had been like this before the world ended, his heart problems giving clear signs of it.

"Hey, Ken, I appreciate you doing this," Lee thanked the man besides him. Kenny brushed him off with a shrug, "Don't sweat it. I know for a fact that if this was Duck or Katjaa, you would be there in a heartbeat. I'll always have your back," A small smile made its way onto Lee's lips. Kenny was a good man and he would like to keep him as a close friend throughout this.

"The same goes for me,"

* * *

**So who do you think is this 'kidnapper' so to speak? **


	9. Reminders Of Misery

**A/N; Hey guy (Smiles sheepishly) I'm so so so sorry. I've been stressing out over exams and problems at home. I know it's a lame excuse and my Writer's Block is invading my mind. Remember review=fuel. SO REMEMBER ENJOY AND REVIEW. (Also chapter may be a bit slower for my writers block is yet to be cured and I have work experience next week so yeah...)**

* * *

Chapter Eight

'Reminders of Misery'

**May 1998**

_Five year old Jaiden sat on the cream carpet cross-legged in front of the coffee table, her hair long blonde tresses covering her current activity. It was as if she didn't want anyone to see what she was doing. Though behind the certain lay a piece of paper she was scribbling on, a red crayon clutched in her tiny hand and her glasses perched on the end of her nose. A scowl was etched onto her baby face, her puffy lips drawn into a straight line, meaning that she was concentrating very hard on her artwork. Her kindergarten teacher, Miss Willows, had sent them all away with a task of drawing their family. _

_Jaiden made sure that her drawing was exceptional for she wanted to please Miss Willows. The woman was very kind, her glittering green eyes holding all the kindness in the world. She wished the woman was her mommy because her mother was horrible to her and her other family member, especially her daddy. The young girl loved her daddy more than anything in the world. He promised her that when she was older he would teach her how to play baseball; after all he was a coach at Alan and Scarlett's school. He had attempted to teach her the other day but she found the baseball too heavy. Plus her mommy found out and hit her father in front of her, though they did not speak of it the next day, even if he did have a massive bruise on his face. _

_"What are you doing, darlin'?" Her daddy's strong Bronx accent came. Hurriedly, she snatched the drawing off the table, pulling it onto her lap, not wanting him to see. _

_"Nothing Daddy," She answered, rolling the crayons away, gazing innocently at the ground. He sighed, a hint of pity on his face. James knelt down to her level, hooking a gentle hand under her chin; he lifted her head to gaze into her eye. _

_"I'm not going to shout at you over whatever you are doing," He stated giving her a small smile to which she returned however her grin didn't seem to reach her deep blue eyes. Gingerly, she handed him the sketch and his face immediately turned into sorrow. As he gazed at the picture he saw the five of them, Alan, Scarlett, Ivy, James and Jaiden. The three children's expressions were frightened as Ivy's expression was one of fury and James was laying down, multiple bruises on his body. _

_"Oh Jaiden," The paper drifted out of his hand before he engulfed his daughter into an embrace. _

_"I'm sorry Daddy," She mumbled into his shirt, her voice cracking ever so slightly. He shook his head, rubbing her back gently. _

_"No, no, no, don't be sweetie. I love you very much; sometimes I love you more than your mother. You are so brave. You've to deal with this for so long and I'm proud of you. Don't you forget that," He explained, placing a soft kiss in her hair. For the moment they stayed in their embrace, Jaiden's eyes beginning to flutter close. According to her daddy, when she was a baby she would only ever fall asleep if she was in his arms. The thought of that caused contentment to flow through her veins. Daddy was her favourite person and she wanted him to be with her forever. However, the drifting closed eyes snapped open when a shrill voice rang throughout the house. _

_"JAMES FUCKING MATTHEWS!" Jaiden flinched as she heard her mother. _

_Hot tears began to spring into her glasses and she stuffed her face further into her father's shirt. She was afraid of her mommy, sometimes when her daddy and siblings weren't home; she tended to become very furious. To which she took for fury out on Jaiden; leaving fresh bruises. They would wonder about it but Jaiden shrugged it off like it was nothing because in fact it was. _

_"It's okay sweetie. What don't you go upstairs an-and play with your dollies. I'll be-" As he told her what to do, she felt him begin to shake. This wasn't fair! Why can't her mommy be like other people's mommies? Hastily, she slipped out of his arms, grabbing her drawing from the floor before running towards the stairs._

_Only smack face-first into her mother's legs._

_"And where do you think you are going, girly?" A false grin plastered on her much too pale face. Gulping, Jaiden craned up to gaze at her. She seemed exhausted; her eyes had slightly sunk into her face, purple bags heavy under them. Her curly ginger locks were giving her the appearance of a lioness and her makeup was smeared. _

_"To-to my room. Daddy told me to play dollies," She cheered with faux glee, which her mother saw right through. Ivy clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, placing her hands on firmly on her hips. _

_"Hmmm," Her eyes flickered down to the paper in her hands. Using her index finger, Ivy pointed to it. _

_"What's that in your hands?" Jaiden didn't have the chance to answer for Ivy snatched it out of her clammy hands._

_Nervously, she backed away, knowing that the woman before her would become infuriated. _

_And she was correct._

_Jaiden observed in fear as Ivy's features dropping, rapidly transforming into rage, her left eye twitching as it always did when she became like this. Her fingers curled into the paper, ruining Jaiden's artwork in the process. _

_"What. Is. This?!" She all but screeched causing the little girl to flinch. James noticed his daughter's reaction and decided to interject. _

_"Ivy, why don't you calm down? This is a misunder-," Though he was rudely interrupted, in all honesty he wasn't surprised. But what puzzled him the most was how his wife came to be like this. When they were dating, he thought he was the luckiest man on earth. In high school, no one would spare him a second glance because he was the 'penguin'. _

_He wasn't the most attractive man in universe and at the time Ivy was the popular girl, she had everyone wrapped around her pinkie finger. It was in college when she started to take notice of her and he fell for her, there was no going back now. He figured that when she was pregnant with Jaiden was when it all started. Apparently, she despised the thought of a third child, quite content with Scarlett and Alan. Shaking his head, he cleared the thoughts away, now wasn't the time for that. Right now, he had to protect his baby girl. _

_"DON'T FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" The pitch of her voice was even higher than before, making him wince and Jaiden began to tremble. _

_"I'm sorry mommy. Please don't be mad," The girl's tone was one of desperation. She didn't want this to happen again, the last time it did, the doctors told her she fractured her wrist. Ivy didn't waste any time with replying for she stormed over to Jaiden. Furiously, she grabbed her long blonde locks, entangling them in her fingers and gave her hair a massive tug. Jaiden howled in pain, fat jelly bean tears rolling down her cheeks already. _

_"Ivy!" James snapped, his own white hot wrath bubbling underneath in normally level-headed, chilled exterior. _

_"What?" She all but chuckled, though it was rather dark. "Let go of my daughter," His response must have been hilarious because she howled with mirth. _

_"You're daughter? That's cute Jamie. Go on amuse me again," She taunted, a malevolent smirk on her face. "_

_Mom-mommy… P-p-p," She was silenced when Ivy began to dig her polished, cerise fingernails into her scalp, kicking her as well. _

_"Shut your mouth you whiny bitch," She ordered, venom laced in her tone. Jaiden had learnt from her experience not to back chat to her mother and just take the pain. She may only be five but she wasn't stupid, her siblings thought she was growing up too quickly. She wished they were here but they were hardly ever home anymore. Jaiden bit her lips, supressing a sob travelling up her mouth, threatening to escape her puffy lips. Instead, she screwed her eyes shut. _

_"I am sick and tired of everyone's shit and problems and all their baby tears! I've had fucking enough! Y'know what? I was sacked today. According to mister boss man, he can't have me sleeping around anymore; I mean how unfair is that? Every woman should have her needs fulfilled; get her sex, get her food, and get her money… But no! I have to come home every day to a whiny five year old; two kids that hate my guts and a husband who is more concerned about a girl who isn't even his! I hate her more than you!" As Ivy spoke, James felt every word feel like a dagger in his heart. He should have known better when she became pregnant with Jaiden. The fact was they hadn't slept together in years but he wished Jaiden was his. He really did. _

_"I AM FUCKING DONE!" She screeched, revelling something in her free hand. _

_A knife._

_What in the hell?_

_His body moved before his mind could stop him. Ivy was going to kill his baby girl. His wife was sick. Just as she was about to bring the knife to Jaiden's head, James somehow managed to grasp the girl out her mother's grip, shielding her with his body. He felt the knife slice though his flesh, going very deep. He howled in pain, releasing his hold on Jaiden as he fell to his side, burning tears falling down his cheeks. Jaiden didn't turn around in fear of what she would witness, so she curled into a ball and lay on the floor soundlessly. But things were never too simple._

_A pair of hands latched onto her sides, nails digging deep into her side. She bit her lip, trying to contain her cries but it was all too much. The owner of the hands lifted her off the floor and she became to scream, kicking her leg around uselessly. _

_"Shut up!" Her mother hissed into her ears, the nails beginning to puncture her skin. Rather than listening to her, the volume of her cries became louder. Loud enough for their next door neighbours to hear them. Jaiden had no idea where her mother was taking her, hopefully not the basement. No one went in the basement, even her gramps forbid anyone going down there and the house had been his before they all moved in. Apparently, Alan claimed that there was a monster hiding down there that eat naughty children and right now, that was here. _

_Her fear came true as Ivy swung the basement door open, throwing her into the darkness. She tried as she bounced on every step that led downwards. A loose nail embedded it's self into her side causing her to shriek, tears completely wetting her face. When she reached the last step, her glasses slipped off her nose, landing next to her, a massive cob-web crack appearing on the left side._

_She lay on her front, her sobs racking her frail body, pain shooting in every possible place. She couldn't move anything, so the only thing she knew to do was scream for help. "HELP! HELP ME PLEASE! DADDY! ALLY! SCAR!" She repeated this over and over again until her voice became too hoarse and pain becoming too unbearable. She needed her daddy to save her; after all he was her superhero. _

_Something was hidden in the shadows opposite hear, she knew it. The thought of that only made her cower again. Her only source of light came streaming from the window above her. All she did was screw her eyes shut even tighter, bringing her shaking, painful hands to her ears, blocking out the monster's groans, her father's exclamations of anguish and her mother's screams of ire. Hopefully it would be over soon._

* * *

The first thing Jaiden realised when she came back to consciousness was that her wrists and shouldered were absolutely killing her. She let out a groan of pain, feeling the muscles screaming at her to be massaged. Another thing she knew that something stank and there was an annoying noise coming from a far. However the smell and the sound were very familiar to her nostrils and ears. The smell of rotting flesh and groans of the undead. Soon enough Jaiden began to panic, the memories of what had caused her be in this predicament. She wiggled at wrist, though it was completely useless for the rope was bound tightly. It burned as she did so but she was determined to escape. Was it really who she thought it was? Or was it just a figment of her imagination? Besides, her mind could be playing tricks on her as they found glee when they do so.

**Would we really be that cruel?**

_Uh…._

**_Yeah we would_**

**Fair enough**

_People…_

**_I can't believe you let yourself get kidnapped_**

**Dumbass**

_Shouldn't we be more concerned about the situation we're in?_

**_Who cares, she's gonna die anyway._**

"SHUT UP! I've had enough of you! Just leave me the fuck alone!" She bellowed, instantly regretting it for the groans of the monsters intensified. She restarted her struggle on the rope, fearing that she would be eaten alive, which she most likely will.

She had to get out of here, no matter what. Jaiden was beyond frightened, in fact no word describe what she was feeling. Her stomach growled; she knew she should have eaten when she had the chance. A thought popped into her mind; _would anyone miss me? _Ceasing her struggling, she mulled over it. Sure she had grown close to Lee, Clem, Katjaa, Kenny, Duck and Carley but in the end would it mean anything at all. Everyone would probably end of dead despite how hard they tried. It would mean nothing in the end, so what was the point? She had nothing left to loose. All those she loved were lost. Ben, Scarlett, Daddy, Jimmy, Evie, Travis…

But there was one. One that she figured was alive.

She was snapped away from her thoughts when a door slammed shut, "What the fuck is the meaning of this?" The voice was one she recognized so well, she must be hallucinating. It's all too good to be true.

"Is that really you?" She wondered, her tone soft. The owner of the voice's heavy footfalls came tromping over to her. The only light came from the slowly dying bulb in the centre of the room, so she found it hard to see if it really was Alan.

Her big brother, her superhero, had her glass mind finally cracked, causing her to see what she hoped. "No it's Jesus," His voice dripped with sarcasm. She was about answer when he continued to speak. "Look what you did; these two were perfectly normal until you opened your trap. "Y'know it's annoying when you do that," He belittled her, clicking his tongue afterwards.

"Why are you doing this?" She rasped, shaking her head. Unexpectedly, he squeezed his cheeks painfully.

"Because I need to complete my doll set. I've got the son, the mother, now I've got the 'daughter' so to speak. It's a shame I don't have the Dad," He sounded too excited about his idea of a doll collection, and that's made her afraid.

"But first, I need to make you look good," With that he slapped her, leaving a massive red handprint behind. Hot tears sprang in her eyes but she didn't let them fall in fear that he would harm her more. The memories of being thrown down the basement appear in the mind and she bit back a sob.

"Oh dear, am I hurting you?" He mocked. Then he began to snicker maliciously. He attacked again, this time it was a blow to the stomach. Lurching forward, she coughed violently. He repeated his actions several more times, ending in Jaiden coughing up blood. The thick coppery liquid drilled down her chin then her neck; the smell of it seemed to make the Walker more furious, desperately wanting to feast.

"Please…stop…" She pleaded her voice scratchy and weak. He didn't reply, instead he hit her temple with object, knocking her out.

* * *

"Where did you two split?" Kenny questioned Lee as they ambled through the forest, rifles in hand.

"Just follow me," Was all Lee said before they fell into a silence again.

They had waited for at least half an hour. In that time to two men had small talk, anything to keep their mind off the situation. Lee was beyond worried. He should have acted; he should have stopped her from going off on a suicide mission. He still didn't understand why she did it in the first place, the wood wasn't that important, they could have found some elsewhere but it seemed that she was determined. For whatever reason he felt like she was trying to prove herself, yet she had done that already.

Jaiden cared for the children, keeping their minds away from all the madness, she fought despite the fact she was scared shitless. He just didn't understand. What he did know that teenage girls were the most complicated people in the universes, he had to learn that the hard way in high school. Rather the dwelling over his misery in high school, Lee started to become aware of his surroundings. They were close to the clearing, he could sense it.

"You think we're gonna find her?" Kenny pestered for the millionth time today and it was beginning to bother him. Don't get him wrong, Kenny was a good friend but right now wasn't the time these question that he was throwing at him.

"Of course we are," Lee answered shortly; he didn't mean to sound so rude. Lee was just exhausted. Kenny detected his attitude and kept his mouth shut for the time being. Though the moment the silence came, they arrived at the small clearing. There were no walkers at all. Nothing left except for the trail of death that lingered in their wake.

"This is it," Lee stated, ambling over to the right side of the clearing where Jaiden had disappeared.

"I still can't believe she did that," Kenny commented, coming to stand next to Lee.

"She was trying to help," Lee just kept heading straight in the direction Jaiden ran off.

"I know that, Lee. It just seems like a silly thing to do thinkin' about it," This time Lee didn't reply, determined to keep on track of his task to find Jaiden. As they ambled further along the trail, Lee noticed something lying on the ground. Quicken his pace; he saw that it was her baseball bat.

"The hell…" Kenny breathed. Kneeling down, Lee placed the rifle besides him, and picked up her bat, studying it. There was nothing unusual about it. The bat still had dried blood that didn't clean off as well as the engravings she carved every time she killed a walker. He found it strange but didn't question her. In all honesty he found that it was a clever idea.

"Lee," Kenny's alarmed voice snapped him out of his analysing of the bat. Turning to the man, he saw that he held a something he didn't wish to see.

Jaiden's black framed square glasses.

"Shit,"

* * *

**November 2007**

_The pitch of the whistle made Jaiden wince, she had no idea why Mrs Garrison decided to do that. __**Probably a Gym Teacher thing. **_

_"You girls have less than five minutes, so I suggest you hurry up and get changed!" She ordered her tone snappy, which was nothing out the usual. The endless chatter filled the changing rooms. They gossiped over cheerleader practice and rumours that floated around school; nothing new. Most of the girls ignored Jaiden whilst other shot daggers at her. Evie was ill today, so she'd been on her own. __**Just great, **__she mused, __**another day of torture here I come… **__With her head bowed, she hurriedly made her way to the bathroom, her gym clothes close to her chest. She felt the girls scorching gaze on her back but for now, she chose to ignore it. _

_Making sure the door was firmly locked behind her, she began to undress. She shivered, there was no heating whatsoever on in the bathroom, despite the fact that it was the middle of winter. As Jaiden pulled her shirt on, she realised that it was too large for her. It came down to her knees and the sleeves ended at her elbows. This was Alan's shirt. Once she had hopped into her jogging bottoms (doing her little dance to get in them as she did so), she tucked the bottom of Alan's shirt in and rolled up the sleeves as high as she could. Then another disaster struck. This was the shirt with the massive stain. She wanted to cry, it's not that was anything unusual with that. _

_Sometimes, she would sit in the corner of her room and cry her eyes out like a baby. Weak, stupid, pathetic and ugly; the four words that summed her up perfectly. Even if people told her otherwise, she knew they were lying. Her fingers lightly brushed the scars on her wrists, she thought about adding more but she mentally slapped herself. Jaiden had convinced herself to stop doing the horrible activity, even if she did enjoy the pain. It sounded like the silliest thing in the world, yet it made a lot of sense to her. No one would understand what she went through. Every single day of her life she had to put up with the endless threats and countless beatings. At first she stood up for herself though after she thought _

_'__**What's the point?'**_

_There wasn't a point at all for defending herself, the bullying only became worse. Now, she decided she didn't want to let people down anymore. She didn't want to let Benny down because he meant more to her than anymore. Alan hadn't been the loveliest person as of late, something had… changed in him. And she knew why. According to Scarlett, the prison wards had found her mother hanging in her prison cell. She had killed herself with her shoelaces. Then tears began to fall. She curled up on the toilet seat, pressing her hand as close to her mouth as possible to muffle her sobs. _

_Why hadn't she seen more of her mother? Jaiden received the letters Ivy had sent, only to burn them. It was too painful for her to even think about her. The incident may have been nine years ago but she just couldn't forgive her mother and now her opinion had changed. In a way, death made things easier than life itself. _

_"MATTHEWS!" Mrs Garrison shrilly voice rang out, bouncing off the empty walls. Jaiden ceased any form of movement, including her breathing. _

_"I know you're in here!" She sang, slight fury in her tone. Such fury made Jaiden shrink back and cover her glasses with the palm of her hands. A booming knock sounded on the toilet door. _

_"You come out know or I give you another detention," Sighing, she removed herself from the toilet seat before standing; her shoulders slumped in defeat. Alan would be extremely disappointed, again. She couldn't afford to make him feel the same way again. There had been enough detentions to prove that. _

_"Coming," She mumbled. When she swung open the door she was met with a tomato faced Mrs Garrison. Hands on hips, Mrs Garrison tutted. _

**_Well fucking done Matthews._**

_Yet another disappointment_

Honestly when are you going to learn?

**_Wait to you get out to the wolves_**

_They're hungry, we can sense it._

_You can be a tasty piece of mental, whiny meat._

_"Matthews? Are you listening to me?" Rather than answering the gym teacher's question, she brushed past her, heading straight for the door. Mrs Garrison's calls were sent to deaf ears as Jaiden shut her out. Hastily, she threw the changing room door open._

_Though it seemed her day just kept getting worse and worse._

_There they were._

_The wolves._

_Ready to feast on their prey._

_"Where do you think you're going four eyes?" Lucy seethed, "Yeah four eyes," Faye repeated dumbly, twirling her bleach blonde hair with her index finger. "None of your damn business, bitch," She mumbled, hoping she wouldn't hear her. Jaiden attempted to dodge them, only to be tripped up when passing them. Landing painfully on her elbow and her glasses flew off her nose. Seems that Lucy did here her. _

_"Stupid bitch," Lucy giggled, spitting in her face. Wiping the salvia off, she scurried to her feet in search of her glasses, only to be kicked in the back. Hot tears already began to prick in her eyes. Again, she was weak. Rage flowed through her veins. She let the continued to beat her, she allowed herself to be weak. As much as she wanted to stand up for herself, she didn't have the guts. _

_"Just stop Lucy! What did I ever do to you?!" Jaiden patted the ground in search of her spectacles. _

_"You stole him from me! It's your entire fault. You came prancing in and you took him from me. Ben was mine and you had to ruin everything! YOU FUCKING MENTALLY UNSTABLE BLIND SADDO BITCH!" Lucy screeched finishing with a heavy kick in the stomach. Jaiden curled up in a ball, completely in shock. This was the reason for the scenario? That she 'stole' Ben from Lucy? Absolute bullshit. She didn't express her thoughts as everyone began to kick her ruthlessly. Rude words were thrown to her and she just absorbed them._

* * *

The next time Jaiden awoke, her arms didn't feel as numb though her shoulders still killed her. The groans of the monsters still floated in the air as did the stench of their flesh. Nothing but darkness entered her vision. Licking her cracked, dry lips she tasted her dried blood, which made her gag ever so slightly. Alan had lost the plot. She supposed it ran in the family. Ivy, Jaiden, now Alan. What was wrong with them all?

"Please…" She murmured to no one in particular. She just wanted to be back at the motor inn with the ones she now called family. Family meant everything to her, whether it was blood or not. Jaiden wriggled around in her spot, discovering that she was bound to a wooden chair that could break at any moment. However, she felt something different about her face (apart from the bruises beginning to swell). Lowering her head slightly, she felt something begin to slip from her nose… her glasses! Confusion washed over her. Where on earth had he found them? When he had attacked her in the forest, she distinctly remembered her spectacles flying off her nose, maybe he had the time to pick them up?

The thought didn't seem very likely. Instead of letting her thoughts consuming her, Jaiden resumed her wiggling, the Walkers moans acting as background music. Jaiden kept her ears on full alert as she tried to complete her task. Footsteps came from upstairs. So she was in some kind of basement.

Great.

May of 1998 flashed through her mind. Shaking her head, she concentrated on what she was doing. Jaiden bent down to her right hand to untie the rope with her teeth. Although the process hurt her games and made her wrists burn, she managed to loosen the not enough to pull it free with her wrist. Her heart beat was pumping loudly in her ear drums, blocking out any sound commencing around her. Once her wrist was free, Jaiden started on her left wrist. Delight flowed through her. Finally, she could leave and never look back. But of course her life would never be that simple.

Someone- Alan- snatched her hand away from her current mission and slammed it back on the arm rest. Before she had time to react, something punctured the centre of her right hand causing her to scream. This only succeeded with a punch in the face and riling up the Walker more. Gazing at her hand, she felt bile rise to her throat at the sight of it. A nail had been slammed there, blood was gushing everywhere, some dropping to the floor but it mainly stained her fingers. Tears now flowed freely down her cheeks, like a strong current river. The pain made her feel numb.

"Oh shut up. What are you whining about," He chuckled darkly, a sick grin plastered on his dirty face, his teeth yellow giving off a disgusting scent. Despite the pain, she reeled back from him, wanting to be as far away from him as possible.

"Hey, hey, hey," He soothed, pulling her head back towards him. She held strong but when a slap in the face came, she complied.

"It's gonna be okay," He pressed a dry kiss on her right temple as well as stroking her sweat soaked hair. "Just watch this and you'll feel much better," Jaiden gulped in fear, afraid of what his idea of treatment was. She wasn't expecting his next move. Swiftly, he brought a butcher's knife down to her left middle finger, immediately falling off. This was the moment that Jaiden screamed her lungs out, the constant flow of tears blurring her version completely. Jaiden was in so much pain that it couldn't be expressed enough through words and her cries.

"What did I say about all you're wailing?" His utterance came out through clenched teeth, as if it pained him to do this to her.

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-to, shut up," Her voice was shaky and hoarse.

"Good girl," Patting on her in the hand, he moved his body to her nailed hand. "No," She muttered, her tone pleading and fearful, her eyes fluttering closed as the pain made black dots spot over her vision.

**YOU HAD IT COMING**

_THIS IS YOUR MESSAGE FOR ALL YOUR SCREWUPS_

**_WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS IN A LONG TIME_**

**IT'S AS IF ALAN'S HEARD US! **

_HALLEUJAH!_

**_CHRISTMAS COULDN'T HAVE COME SOONER!_**

Another tear leaked out of her deep blue irises, falling onto Alan's hand. He stilled his movement of raising the butcher knife high in the air, as if contemplating his next actions. "

They gotta be fed. They need to have a taster for when you're their next dinner," Although his words were terrifying, his voice was very soft and gentle. This time he allowed her to screw her eyes shut, to not see the terror of cutting her right ring finger off; squeals following shortly afterwards.

* * *

**Here ya go, sorry if it's not the best, I'm trying**


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